Plans approved to turn Jersey's Ann Street Brewery into 258 affordable homes

Plans have been approved to turn a Jersey brewery into 258 new affordable homes.

The island's social housing provider Andium Homes will transform the Ann Street Brewery site into social housing in an attempt to meet the demand for affordable homes.

Plans will see 165 one-bedroom homes and 88 two-bedroom homes built on the site, but some islanders are concerned about the size of the apartments.

Over half of the one-bedroom homes will have a maximum floor space of 51 square metres, which is the same size as three parking spaces.

The initial plans were put forward in January 2021 Credit: ITV Channel

Prior to the decision, Deputy Tom Coles wanted the number of homes reduced as he fears the size of the apartments would be too small.

The St Helier deputy's views were not taken into account when plans were approved today (23 February).

Jersey's government has set a target of building more than a thousand new affordable homes by 2025, so decreasing the number of new apartments due to their size would risk making the target unviable.

The housing minister, Deputy David Warr, said: "We know the cost of housing and buying a home is out of the realm for most people, so we have to appreciate that therefore sizes have to come down a bit.

"That's the compromise we have."

Deputy Sam Mezec, leader of Reform Jersey, does not agree with the size and affordability of these homes and believes people should also be asking the government what they're doing about private sector housing.

He said: "Right now the government is supporting private rabbit hutches being rented out for £1400 a month."

Dandara who submitted the proposals on behalf of Andium Homes, said the plans show "ambitious sustainability objectives making a significant step towards meeting the island's Carbon Strategy" and will include a large new public green open space.

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