Opinions sought on parish community plan

The plan includes ideas to develop disused buildings in the parish

Islanders are being invited to have their say on what St Pierre du Bois could look like in the future.

Comments are being welcomed on a plan prepared by local residents on things like retail, traffic and housing in the area.

Deputy Victoria Oliver, President of the Development & Planning Authority, said these types of plans were a "really good way to hear what residents want to happen in their local area".

She said the committee had not had any input into the plan and it had "been drafted by the local community in St Peter's for the local community in St Peter's".

The Draft Community Plan for St Peter's was put together by an independent committee, which invited the public to submit proposals before compiling them and consulting with parishioners on the results.

During that consultation 9% of adults living in the parish responded, with the most popular development idea being to expand the post office, potentially by adding a cafe.

The draft plan is now subject to an island-wide consultation.

St Peters Post Office owner Stephanie Andrajasevic said it would be lovely for the business to remain a hub in years to come but she did not agree with changing the building.

She said: "It's been here so long and I think people are fond of it, we could have a bit more storage, maybe some more modern facilities than we have in a building this age and that would be a positive but it would be a shame to change it too much from what it used to be."

Other proposals in the plan include converting a redundant WC block for retail units, a community hedge veg stall, new pedestrian links between key locations and plans to upgrade the sports pavilion.

The closing date for comments is 28 May.

The States of Guernsey said if comments received confirmed the plan was supported by islanders and there were no reasonable objections, the Development & Planning Authority would then consider it for approval as Supplementary Planning Guidance, which helps to inform decisions on future planning applications.