Swallow Apartments must stay in tourism as appeal fails

Saturday 6th March 2010, 2:29PM GMT.

Swallow Apartments owner Mark Hesse says the court decision could not have come at a worse time. (Picture by Tom Tardif, 0928632)

AN APPEAL against the refusal of a retrospective planning application to let holiday apartments to locals has failed.

The Royal Court rejected by an 8-1 majority the challenge by Swallow Apartments and upheld the Environment Department’s decision.

The court heard that of the 10 units on the site at La Cloture, Vale, six had been taken out of the tourist sector progressively over the past 10 years without permission.

For the department, Advocate Karen Hill-Tout said that Commerce and Employment, which had responsibility for tourism, brought the matter to Environment’s attention in spring last year.

Commerce and Employment reported that it had received boarding applications for only four of the 10 apartments.

Since 2004, Swallow Apartments had asked for some of the units to be temporarily closed.