Guernsey changes planning rules to 'reduce burden' on developers

Developers of up to 20 homes in St Peter Port will have fewer requirements when submitting planning proposals

Planning rules for building multiple homes in some areas have been simplified to speed up the process.

Proposals with fewer than 20 homes in St Peter Port and the Bridge no longer need to obtain a development framework from the States of Guernsey.

Ending this requirement could cut up to 18 months from the planning process and "reduce the burden" on developers, Deputy Victoria Oliver said.

Plans for fewer than 10 homes in seven 'local centres' are also included.

These areas include Cobo, St Pierre du Bois, L'Islet and Forest.

The 2016 Island Development Plan map, with main centres in black and local centres in purple

The frameworks are used by the Development and Planning Authority (DPA) to ensure large-scale projects are in line with the 2016 Island Development Plan.

'Free up resources'

President of the DPA Victoria Oliver said she was looking to streamline the planning process in Guernsey and the move would "remove red tape" from government.

She explained the development frameworks added between nine and 18 months to planning applications, and removing them will allow planning officers to focus on larger developments.

Deputy Oliver said they had had to postpone development framework requests from some architects and developers for smaller proposals over a lack of staff time.

She said: "By increasing the thresholds as we have this will reduce the burden on developers, get proposed housing developments to site more quickly and free up resources within the States."

Follow BBC Guernsey on Twitter and Facebook. Send your story ideas to [e-mail].