Owners of Guernsey's derelict properties could be ordered to pay for repair work

  • Kate Prout reports

Owners of abandoned and derelict properties across Guernsey could be forced to pay for their improvements under new plans from the development authority.

A policy letter published by the Development and Planning Authority focuses on reducing the number of derelict houses and hotels on the island by making the owners pay for repairs.

If the owners fail to pay for improvements, the States can access the property to do the repair work and charge the owner for the work.

Deputy Victoria Oliver, President of the DPA says it would be an opportunity to further improve the charm of the island:

"We have so many derelict buildings. We need a lever to say 'can you actually do something about this', and I know 90% of people will do something about it and only a small few will need us to take action against it.

"The majority of the work will be trying to track down the owners and ask them to do something with it and I'm sure they will do something with it."

One abandoned hotel on the island has already had planning application approval to transform it into an 'invisible house.'

Idlerocks Hotel has been redundant since 2003. Credit: Lovell Ozanne

The former Idlerocks Hotel in St. Martin has been empty for almost 20 years after the roof caught fire in 2003.

Lovell Ozanne has designed a two-storey home which will be difficult to see by the public from the road or coastal cliff path due to the small size and plants covering the roof.

David Sherwill Zopf says: "We picked out the unique points of the site and formed the principal design and used the setting to offer views of Herm, Sark and Jersey."

The DPA says the plans would not apply to redundant greenhouses, as other measures already exist under the island's Planning Law to allow for their removal.