PLANS for the Mont Varouf School site were revealed at last night’s St Saviour’s parish meeting. Two submissions have gone to the Environment Department but they are not full applications.
Douzenier Mike Best said they were to ascertain whether the concepts were acceptable. ‘An application for permission in principle would have cost a further several thousand pounds because it would have involved a planning and design statement and so on.’
The first submission has three residential units on the area of Andy’s House and the pool and hall areas, together with the conversion of the school into two further units of accommodation. The second also has the three residential units but the school would become a parochial community centre.
‘Following the September meeting, the douzaine is mindful of the fact there are ratepayers and residents who would like to convert the old school into a parish community centre,’ said Mr Best.
He added that the income from selling the three residential units would possibly fund part, if not all, of the conversion of the school.
However, the douzaine came under fire for how it had handled the September meeting, at which it was given a mandate to sell the site for development.
A pressure group recently set up to keep the premises in parish ownership had sent a letter to every household in St Saviour’s detailing how the site could be better used to benefit parishioners.
Member Margaret Macdonald said the group had received 284 letters supporting its objectives and only three against.
The mail drop and publicity the group generated resulted in about 150 parishioners attending last night’s meeting, which had to be moved from the church hall to the church.
Grievances raised included a ‘lack of organisation’ at the September meeting – people felt not enough time had been given to those in attendance to make an informed decision and there had been no recorded vote. Other points raised included the lack of enthusiasm for an open day for parishioners to look round the school and that the people who did attend the meeting had been bulldozed into making a decision that the douzaine seemed intent on pushing through.
Dean of St Saviour’s douzaine Peter Bott told last night’s meeting that only 10 letters of complaint had been received after the meeting and that the douzaine had no intention of making a decision without informing parishioners.
He said the douzaine hoped to be in a position to call another meeting once Environment had responded.
Concerns were also raised by parishioners that the States was not allowing the douzaine access to the school and that it was using the building to store its own and Greffe records and files, despite the site being classed as an area to be used for educational purposes only.
In other business, the meeting saw all of the tresor, churchwarden’s and parish accounts approved.
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