A chance for northern deputies to question Bridge planning decisions

Deputies representing the north of the island have an opportunity to challenge the perceived over-development of the Bridge corridor, according to the Guernsey Press.

Picking up on concerns expressed by the Vale and St Sampson's Douzaines, the newspaper's Comment column says a move to debate the Development and Planning Authority's first annual monitoring report is a good opportunity to question the 1,250 new homes planned for the area.

There is, however, a problem because the Island Development Plan which allows these developments isn't 'failing'. '...it is doing exactly what it was supposed to: cramming homes in the northern corridor and in St Peter Port,' says the Press editorial. 

Under the headline Chop Down the Poisoned Planning Tree (above), it goes on:

'The challenge for deputies is to get the planning authority to accept that the IDP is the fruit of a poisoned tree. That is why green fields are being built on when there are brown-field sites available. That is why sites in narrow lanes are getting permission for scores of tiny new homes with minimal parking.

'And that is why developers are cherry-picking the most profitable sites, not the ones that make most sense.

'The effect is only just starting to show. The permissions have been granted but developers have not started to build. When they do, the folly of this divisive plan will be all too clear. But by then it will be too late.'

Below: A graphic indicating the new homes for which permission has been granted.