In the ordinary course of events, having a convent as a neighbour ought to be a recipe for peace, tranquillity and respect.

A planning application from the Convent of Mercy, Cordier Hill, St Peter Port, has, however, rather cast a shadow over that.

The Catholic order has every right to seek to develop its property and may well have an obligation to make the best use of its assets for the benefit of the Church generally.

The rather secretive way it is going about it, however, is not helpful and is certainly doing nothing to allay the concerns of people living in the area.

Seeking to put high-density housing into the area – a cul

-de-sac reached by a one-way road – was always going to be controversial and, rightly or wrongly, an order of nuns apparently acting as property developers was always going to attract interest.

Added to that is the prospect of a popular nursery and preschool, which its website entry says accommodates 60 children between the ages of six weeks and five years, having to move so yet more apartments can be built in the centre of St Peter Port.

Parents rely on nursery and preschool facilities to enable them to work so the possibility of that central service disappearing will be very worrying to them.

In addition, the island’s preschools are already waiting to see how Education’s own plans to provide more places will impact on them so this is already a worrying time.

To increase the sensitivity of the application, any of the extra traffic generated by the development will have to exit past Vauvert School, which is one of the reasons why the planners have already started consultation with Environment’s traffic and transport services section.

Whether the Catholic authorities choose to be open about their plans is a matter for them and their advisers. But there are a lot of people who have an interest in the application and every reason at the moment to be very nervous about it.

Perhaps unwittingly, the convent’s application is in danger of creating a most unholy row.