Guernsey ex-vinery housing plan clears first hurdle

Proposals for potentially hundreds of houses on a former vinery in Guernsey have cleared their first hurdle.

A 15-acre (6.3 hectare) site in St Sampson has been set aside for a mix of affordable and social housing.

It comes after the approval of a development framework for residential development by the Guernsey's planning authority, the States said.

The proposals said "how the site might be developed" but still needed planning approval, officials said.

The majority of the site is owned by the States, including the former Belgrave Vinery, and could see more than 300 homes eventually built.

The Policy and Resources Committee and the Committee for Employment and Social Security said they had partnered with the Guernsey Housing Association to "develop options for the site".

However, the association said it "can't actually develop it all at the moment", and planning work and construction could take years to finish.

Association boss Steve Williams said: "The higher part of the site, which is just under half, we can develop.

"But the lower half, or over half actually, is classed as being potentially floodable, so we have to come up with a flood remediation strategy before we can even think about that.

"So there are a few technical challenges and planning challenges before we can do all that."

The States said the framework "provides planning guidance on how the site might be developed".

Planning Authority president Victoria Oliver said: "You won't see the whole site being developed straightaway - it will be phased."

But she added: "Everybody knows that we've got housing problems at the moment, so it's what we need."

Guernsey is in a housing "crisis" with many people unable to afford property to buy or rent, and some being forced to move away.

Rapidly escalating prices, minimal space for building and a lack of social housing have conspired to create the situation.

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