This Is Guernsey

By Gemma Hockey

HOUSING has pledged to bulldoze the Grand Bouet.

Department minister Dave Jones said the poorly equipped estate should be torn down in the next five years. ‘The Bouet was the reason that I became a politician in the first place,’ he said.

‘I have watched that estate for many years and have felt since day one that it should be razed to the ground.

‘And that is something that seems to be on the horizon.

‘In the next four or five years, I believe we will be ready to redevelop the Bouet.’

He said temporary housing would have to be found for the estate’s residents before the substandard 1950s and 1960s buildings could be torn down.

‘The problem of any development is finance and finding property to decant people from their houses into so we can get on with the development.

‘But we have managed it so far, as you can see here today with Victoria Avenue.’

He was speaking yesterday as he tore down the first bricks in preparation for the avenue’s housing project, which will see 36 flats and 10 houses replaced with 57 new homes. Deputy Jones said he had a new vision for future States housing.

‘We are determined that we are not going to build boring, faceless, soulless housing that has often been part of the construction of States housing in the past.’

Rebuilding at Victoria Avenue is set to start in February and is expected to cost about £8m., with two-thirds of that coming from the private sector. The last remaining residents moved out at Christmas.

Guernsey Housing Association chief executive Steve Williams said the Grand Bouet was its next big project.

‘The States have made it quite clear that it’s not worth putting in more money to refurbish houses on the estate,’ he said.

‘But there are a lot of people living there and these people need to be rehoused before we can get them out and, of course, there is the small matter of the planning process.’

He said the association would focus on providing social housing for the 21st century.

‘I think the vision is to build good spec and quality homes that meet a number of requirements to house single people, families, couples and older people.

‘We would also look to provide rent accommodation and partial ownership, as we already have with Roseville.

Article posted on 22nd May, 2007 - 12.00am