Jersey foreshore property complaints to be reconsidered by States

A revised policy for properties accused of encroaching on Jersey's foreshore will be debated in November

Property owners fined for encroaching on Jersey's foreshore will have their complaints reconsidered by the States.

In 2018 the Jersey Complaints Board found two homeowners had been subject to "unjust" behaviour by Jersey Property Holdings (JPH).

The States agreed all encroachment payments would be paused until a revised policy is debated in November.

It will include reassessing compensation owed to the government.

The report detailed the experiences of Mr A Luce and Mr J Mallinson, who were told by JPH part of their properties encroached on the foreshore when they put their homes up for sale.

The foreshore refers to the area of land lying between the low and high water mark, which was gifted to the Jersey public by the Queen in June 2015.

Mr Luce paid £34,387 in compensation and legal costs and Mr Mallinson paid £25,725.

According to the complaints board report, JPH adopted a "take it or leave it stance" towards the men.

"In short, it appears that JPH exploited the vulnerable position that the complainants found themselves in as owners urgently needing to sell their respective properties," it read.

The amended proposition, put forward by Deputy Carolyn Labey, seeks to establish a clearer policy on how encroachments are dealt with by the government.

States members also agreed that a map of all public accesses, footpaths and rights of way to the foreshore must be published by the Department for Infrastructure by the end of quarter one in 2021.

Deputy Labey said a "fair, consistent, even" strategy was required, that could be applied "in an open and transparent manner, not arbitrarily or discriminatory".

"Property owners need to know exactly where they stand," she added.