Plans to turn restaurant into holiday let refused

Planners have rejected a scheme to redevelop the La Pulente site to include a two-bedroom flat and a cafe

The planning committee has refused permission for part of a Jersey restaurant to be turned into a self catering holiday let.

It comes after Nude Food, at La Pulente, closed in November 2023 with the owner saying it was not making enough money.

The company - Nude Food Dunes - wanted to change the use of part of the building to include a two-bedroom flat.

Owner Nadia Miller said she would appeal against the decision.

The plans included converting the rest of the building into a "kiosk style cafe" and reopening the public toilets which were closed along with the business in November 2023.

The planning officer involved in the application recommended it be refused and the majority of 124 members of the public who commented on the plans also opposed them.

In July, about 250 people gathered on the beach near the restaurant, to demonstrate against "overdevelopment and privatisation".

The owners had tried to sell the restaurant, which sits on the Coastal National Park, but said they had not received a high enough offer.

'Avoid dereliction'

Mike Smith, the director of the architect and design company that drew up the plans, said the owner had been trying to sell the business for the last year and dropped the asking price from £3.3m to £2.2m.

He said there were many policies in the Island Plan that supported the development as it would benefit the visitor economy and provide a “viable future for the building” and “avoid dereliction”.

But Constable Philip Le Sueu, chairman of the planning committee, said it could not base its decision on the failing finances of a company.

Le Sueur said it was an extremely sensitive area in the Coastal National Park which needed protection.

The committee added there was no real policy justification to go against the recommendation to refuse the application.