Planning appeal successful

STAN BROUARD LTD has won an appeal against Environment’s refusal to allow it to develop its Landes du Marche site.
Speaking after jurats in the Royal Court reached an 8-1 verdict in favour of the company yesterday afternoon, managing director Rodney Brouard said it was a victory for common sense.
The company can now go ahead with three developments, including a 4,725sq. metre industrial unit in a field to the north-west of the site and a wildlife area.
‘Things we want to do there that are not only for sales but to support local industries such as horticulture, agriculture and dairy.
‘We want to continue exporting postal flowers, postal plants and our relatively new product, the SB plant invigorator.’
He said the extension saga had been dragging on since 1999, with the company’s first application being made in 2002.
‘We have now got to speak to our architect, but we will be looking to get detailed plans back to the Environment Department in the near future.
‘How long that will take we don’t know, but at least we know we can get permission now.’
Mr Brouard said the company had suffered as a result of the application made in June 2006 being rejected in November of the same year.
‘If we had had permission, we could have reorganised the site years ago and it would have cost a lot less.
‘It has probably gone up by 50% in that time.’
By voting in favour of the company, the jurats had decided that Environment had been unreasonable when it turned down what was described as a significant development.
Advocate Peter Ferbrache, representing the company, said there was no other site in the urban area that could meet the company’s needs.
‘It’s a matter of pure common sense,’ he said.
‘This field has been designated to be built upon and, yes, it has to be built upon as sensitively as possible. But it was redesignated so that there could be an industrial development there.’
Advocate Ferbrache told the court how neither Guernsey Water nor Commerce and Employment was against the development.
He said Commerce and Employment was fully supportive and that the department was of the view that the proposals would result in improvements in terms of landscaping, safety and the character of the site.
An extra access point from Les Rouvets Road would also separate customers from commercial traffic.
‘It’s clear that they [the planners] didn’t like the redesignation,’ said Advocate Ferbrache.
The application came after the Rural Area Plan public inquiry, during which inspector Peter Robottom recommended a change in the zoning of much of the area from high landscape quality to undesignated.
That was approved by the States in December 2005.
HM Comptroller Howard Roberts, representing the department, said talk of the land being undesignated and built upon because it was no longer agricultural was misplaced.
He said the planners had rightly taken into consideration that to build on that site would have negatively impacted on the area and its surroundings.
He had argued that what the inspector had done was to recommend a zoning which would allow Environment to consider applications for development.
Mr Roberts said in no way had the States or the inspector granted permission for the Stan Brouard plans.
The proposed development will almost double the company’s premises.
No one living near the field had objected to the proposed extension.
‘It will be done sympathetically and we will do everything that we promised to do,’ said Mr Brouard. (from thisisguernsey)

About time that local companies are supported in their growth plans, well done Rodney...

hope for our greenhouse then

Tell them your green house is to store your combine harvester in