Plans to turn Bouley Bay hotel into a luxury home given planning permission

Plans to replace the run-down Water's Edge Hotel with a luxury home have been approved. Credit: MS Planning

Plans to turn the dilapidated Water's Edge Hotel at Bouley Bay into a luxury home have been approved by Jersey's Planning Committee.

It means the site will be redeveloped to create a new residence, which includes indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a tennis court, eight parking spaces and seperate staff accommodation.

The home will also have its own private cinema, gym, and spa for the occupiers to use.

The anonymous family has previously said they do intend to live in the home once it is built, rather than selling the property.

The chalets neighbouring the Water's Edge Hotel would be kept, along with Mad Mary's Café. Credit: MS Planning

The plans were drawn up by Jersey-based design firm, MS Planning. Director Michael Stein says the new property will have a 'significantly lower' visual impact on the area compared to the existing hotel:

"It's going to sit comfortably in the landscape, it's designed so it's layered back, working with the contours, using granite as the main external material, so that it will sit very, very comfortably in the landscape context that it sits in."

The development has been a controversial one, with some residents concerned about Jersey's coastal areas being snapped up by high net-worth investors.

Jersey's former Planning Minister, Deputy John Young, was even found to have acted "unlawfully" by the island's Royal Court over his decision to put the plans out to a planning inquiry.

The existing Water's Edge Hotel has been empty since 2015. Credit: ITV Channel Television

The members of the Planning Committee voted 4-2 in favour of the development.

Deputies Tom Coles and Alex Curtis voted against the plans, while Constable Philip Le Sueur - who would normally have chaired the meeting - recused himself from taking part in the decision and spoke in favour of it as a member of the public.

He had previously made it clear he supports the development.

Speaking in August 2021, the Constable of Trinity he would "personally like to see the back of the Water's Edge Hotel":

"The latest proposal is for a single residence, but that delivers us with a dive centre and a licensed restaurant, so we end up with destinations maintained in Trinity, and it is government policy that we encourage 11E residents to come to Jersey and contribute to the economy and the wellbeing of the island."

The plans include a new dive centre and restaurant, alongside Mad Mary's Café which has been offered a new lease. Credit: MS Planning

Dozens of residents turned out to the planning meeting at St Paul's Centre, with some queueing out the door to find out whether the plans would get the go-ahead.

The vast majority supported the plans, including Mary Tunney, who runs the neighbouring 'Mad Mary's Café'. She told ITV News she's "absolutely delighted" with the decision:

"Thanks be to God that after all these years something's finally going to be done at Bouley Bay, keeping the community as it is with the Dive Centre, the Hill Climb and the assurance that I've got a new lease for many years to come. It's such a relief!

"I'm overjoyed - I nearly jumped out of my seat [during the planning meeting]. The decision gives security for all of us down at the bay and will make the area nice for everybody."