Jersey Reform Day.
This site is dedicated to the day, now officially recognised annually by the States of Jersey, to mark the anniversary of the events of 28 September 1769.
Jersey's own Independence or Bastille Day.
Derek Mason gave a talk at the Societe Jersiaise Library on 12 February 2015 on the 14th Venice Biennale of 2014.
That talk has been recorded and copied to the AJA archive.
We interviewed Derek after the talk and that video recording follows below in 2 parts;
Part 1;
Part 2 ;
Derek has a busy programme of Architecture events planned for 2015 - consult the Association of Jersey Architects web site for details
Below is a 3 part discussion engaging Deputy Rob Duhamel - "Planning Minister", Architect Derek Mason and Greg Woods of JECOhomes.
The subject is "Affordable Housing"....
This week the JEP reported on the publication of the
Inspector’s Report re the Jersey Island Plan Interim Review looking at
revisions to the Green Zone etc.
The same two planning inspectors from the UK – Chris Shepley
and Alan Langton – who approved the Environment Department’s Draft Island
Plan(just a couple of years ago)
almost inevitably endorsed their own previous decisions. So by and large
nothing changes – except that the three greenhouse sites are now back on the
agenda again for re-zoning for housing developments.
Whether they will ever be built on is not at all certain
because Parish opposition is greatand
nobody knows if the owners will agree to sell the land for so called
“affordable” housing or not and compulsory purchase is not only the very last
resort but is also a very long and expensive process.
Extraordinarily, just a day or so before the JEP published
details from the Inspectors’ findings there was a Scrutiny Panel hearing -
Deputies Hilton and Reed with the Housing Minister Deputy Green and his team.
There was no mention of the Inspectors’ Report at that hearing!
Yet it was evident – even to Deputies Hilton and Reed I hope
– that the housing development plans of government are the same shambles as
always. There are virtually no new houses likely to be built in the very near
future – affordable or otherwise – and the 760 families on the “social housing”
list with urgent needs will be sleeping in unsatisfactory conditions for many
years to come.
And they are only the tip of a very big iceberg because the
true housing needs of this Island have never been properly quantified and many
– probably most – of those with urgent housing needs with housing “quals” are
living somewhere in the “private” sector which has the worst accommodation in
the Island.
Of course it is not all bad accommodation and some is
available to rent at more reasonable cost – but mostly privately rented units
are of poor standard and expensive and totally unsuitable for anybody with
disabilities or even children to care for.
That is not to mention the “MISSING 10,000” either. That is
the most sordid and disgraceful aspect of the Jersey Housing game – the 10,000
(officially nearer 10,500) working adults (plus children) who do not have
“quals” and therefore do not even feature in the existing house provision plans
or statistics. Of course this problem makes the 760 look like a very small
matter and at long last the Inspectors’ have finally acknowledged my pleadings
(and the words of very few others) that something must be done. On page 31 of
their 50 plus pages Report they say;
“We register our
concern that insufficient priority has been given to the implementation of
Policy H9. At any future review/EIP specific attention should be given to the
needs of people in this sector [i.e. those without quals] and to the adequacy
of Policy H9 and its implementation”
In other words the 10,500 must be planned for. A huge member
of new houses and flats are required and for the most part they do not even
feature in the existing Island Plan. So never mind about “Population Control” –
the real problem is already here and the provision of “Affordable Housing” is a
far greater problem than anybody dared suggest. So tear up the Island Plan and
start again. Three greenhouse sites will not solve the problem. We cannot go on
stuffing more and more houses into the St Helier “ghetto” and the existing
“urban” areas. The need is for affordable housing accommodation with space and
views, fresh air, parking and peace and quiet – just like people who have a
choice build for themselves in the country parishes. Building tomorrow’s town
slums should not be a part of any planning agenda.
The video discussion here features Planning and Environment
Minister Deputy Rob Duhamel, Architect Derek Mason and Greg Woods of
JECOHomes....it was recorded before the Inspectors’ Report was published.
This two part video discussion relates to the written submission of September 2013 to the “Planning” office. That submission is posted on this blog on 21 September as “Heads in the Sands” and is a response to the planners’ invitation for comments on its proposed revisions to the 2011 Island Plan.
Among a wad of papers almost as thick as the Island Plan itself the planners outline some possible re-drafting of the Island Plan and in particular that some sites in the “Green Zone” should be re-zoned for housing purposes.
My view is that the whole Island Plan should be scrapped because successive Plans, produced at enormous cost, have proved to be virtually useless. The only sector the economy that has been prosperous during recent years is “finance” and that is the one that has received little or no attention under the “Plans”.
On the other hand, Tourism, light industry and agriculture have been largely ruined and the provision of Housing is a disaster.
What other community, with such “prosperity” could have 10,000 working adults – a fifth of the working population – who are not allowed even to rent or buy proper living accommodation, even if it were available! Such is the dreadful result of Island Plans produced over the past fifty years or so….
Even the Strategic Plan agreed by the States undertakes to house everybody in Jersey adequately and to eliminate discrimination….but the Planners evidently work to a totally different and unique agenda of their own!!!
At the very least I say that the Green Zone part of the Island Plan needs to be removed. The true housing and other needs of all the people – not just cows, potatoes and rich residents – needs to be totally re-assessed and other demands on land reconsidered.
The two part video discussion reveals that there is still an emotional clinging to the concept of the “Green Zone” by both politicians here (without much evidence) whilst the Architect is confidently willing to build.
The participants in the video are Deputy Rob Duhamel (Planning and Environment Minister), Deputy John Young (a former Chief Officer at the Planning Department) and Architect Derek Mason.
Some previous blogs here that relate to this are;
21 September 2013 “Heads in the Sand” Island Plan submission of Mike Dun
28 August 2013 Interview with Architect Derek Mason
9 July 2013 Minister Rob Duhamel interview
20 June 2013 Video documentary on Accessible v Pretty buildings in Jersey
9 March 2013 Deputy Green Housing Minister interview re “Non-qualified” residents
5 December 2012 Architect Paul Harding re Plemont
24 September 2012 The Battle for Plemont
23 March 2012 Minister Rob Duhamel “Planning for the Future”
6 January 2012 Architect Paul Harding on Care provision in Jersey
Derek Mason a Jersey architect of many years discusses the state of the design/planning process as it is now and was in the past - this video interview is about 15 minutes.
What is wrong with ugly buildings and why are pretty buildings better? These were themes raised previously with the Environment Minister Deputy Duhamel and posted on this site.
The recent Architecture Week was also featured here and criticised for being obsessed with "pretty" design awards rather than attacking the immense problems of the whole Island - especially with regard to housing demands. Here Derek Mason discusses the "ghetto" of St Helier and the failures of the Waterfront but expresses his support for the latest office development proposals from Dandara Ltd on the Esplanade. Meanwhile it is a critical Jersey Advocate who leads the Heritage group - not an Architect or Planner - but Architects are not visibly critical of the standards of legal services provided by advocates in Jersey...why not?
