Major £120 million Les Sablons housing development approved in Jersey

The plans include nearly 240 homes, as well as a hotel, some cafés and a restaurant. Credit: Les Masurier

A major £120 million housing project in the heart of St Helier has been given planning permission by Jersey's Infrastructure Minister.

It follows a successful legal challenge by developer Les Masurier who argued the proposals would boost tourism, reduce the island's housing shortage and create 150 jobs at no cost to the taxpayer.

The Royal Court appointed Deputy Tom Binet to reconsider the Les Sablons application after it ruled that Assistant Environment Minister, Deputy Hilary Jeune, acted "unlawfully" in blocking the plans.

Binet's ministerial decision to approve the proposals means 238 apartments, a 103-room hotel, cafés and a restaurant will now be built in the town centre between Broad Street and Commercial Street.

He references an independent review which previously said the development should go ahead.

Binet explained: "I have accepted and agreed with the findings, recommendations and reasoning of the planning inspector and see no reason not to grant approval based on the evidence outlined to me."

The project has caused tension at Jersey's political top table as Chief Minister, Deputy Kristina Moore, previously admitted she was "extremely disappointed" by Jeune’s decision to veto the development.

Moore's open support for the proposals and failure to back up a fellow Minister's decision were condemned as "inappropriate" by some - former Environment Minister John Young described her comments as "deplorable".

She has maintained it was appropriate to speak out as the "decision did not align with [the Government's] priorities or the advice of the independent planning inspector".

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