Plans for brewery site ‘an assault on the seafront’
Thursday 29th December 2011, 9:15AM GMT.
PLANS for a multi-million-pound development of the former Guernsey Brewery site are an assault on the seafront, a campaigner against the application has said.
But the developer said it would be a positive addition to the area and provide a boost to the island’s economy.
Comprop wants to turn the original and adjacent buildings into 28 two-bedroom and eight three-bedroom flats with car parking and storage facilities.
The plan is for four residential blocks around a landscaped multi-level courtyard, inspired by the original within the building.
Former news photographer John Schute (pictured) , who campaigned against an application in 2004 to build a four-storey office block and flats on the site, is urging islanders to see the plans for themselves before the 5 January consultation deadline and make their feelings known to the Environment Department.
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I have looked at the plans . all glass again They do not fit in with the sea front I agree with this man .
Some of it does look ok but the rest will stick out like a sore thumb .
The plans can be viewed here
http://www.compropci.com/index.php?page=68
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The building on the far left would look ok and fit in slightly if it wasn’t white…. The other two on the right look ridiculous as all glass!
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the building on the far left is being pretty much preserved as it is – including the colour
the other two, although more modern, are an improvement on the modern-style hideous crumbling buildings that are there at present.
I would love them to build a Georgian/Victorian facade for the whole place, but I expect that such things are too expensive these days.
But then, the new Trust Corporation offices on the Grange show what can be done.
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What’s wrong with Glass?
Some people seem to believe that he move away from mud huts was a step too far.
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What’s wrong with Glass?
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Looks better than derelict buildings…
Though, they could have made it more realistic with some cars… not likely you’ll be able to wander nonchantly across the road like the chap in the picture!
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There’ll be plenty more cars in the picture when the Hill Climbs are on!
Looks ok to me otherwise..
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Kat
All glass? That means literally that, 100%.
The Comprop plans show about 70% glass, and I think the image looks fine
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Thumbs up to a new look Guernsey, looks great, allow Guernsey to grow and modernise, no need to hold back just because everything around it is old and in need of demolition. GO GSY!!
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Absolutely Hideous. They should have done something about the ugly decaying buildings ages ago.
As for the new plans, i think they look quite nice.
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Thanks for the link Kat
Actually not nearly so bad as I was expecting
PS
Anyone who follows the link should take the opportunity to take a look at the aerial shot of Admiral Park on their ‘other projects’ button
That clearly shows the state of our busiest roads when all you office whallas are nicely tucked up at your desks!
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So we just leave it as it is then, i work pretty much next to this place. Change it ASAP, it looks awful at the moment.
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The current flat-roofed buildings at the site look aweful anyway, what’s wrong with a pitched roof? The whole thing looks ‘incongrous with the surroundings’.
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RR – Do some work Mr Richards – Completely agree with you…
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It is easy to see by the “anti”campaigner’s personal attire in the caption photo that he is obviously a gentleman of some taste and sensitivity.
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I’ve just looked at the link and couldn’t beleive what I saw. Have they also purchsed the offices and the small cottages next door? Onoe of the cottages has only just been refurbished and sold!
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Thanks for link to the plans.
Will look so much better than the awful mess I have to walk past every day!
Hope ComProp get the go ahead to start ASAP.
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So will this be the end of the Hill Climb then?
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Kat – thanks for the link – looks pretty unobtrusive and a distinct improvement on what’s there currently.
What is the protestor expecting – a 5 storey fisherman’s cottage?
Didn’t Mooarc just win an architectural award for one of the houses the ‘Eyesore Architecture’ people were complaining about?
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The site needs to be developed however the sensitivity of the history and location has been missed in this application. The original facade on the main building has not been retained, this should be made a stipulation by the planning department.
Guernsey is becoming either very old or very modern, it is like the 1800s are slowly being wiped away.
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“The original facade on the main building has not been retained”
Look again – yes it has – its the rectilinear concrete monstrosity next to it that’s going – the new plans also incorporate the narrow vertical elements of the adjacent buildings – but broken up with different widths to help transition to the original building
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Sorry but no it has not. On the news report on their website it is in fact a new build in replication. It is not the original facade, such as seen on other applications such as Nelson Place when the original facade is retained and efectively a new build errected behind it.
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I don’t believe that the building has any particular historical or architectural significance and so why does it matter whether the old bricks are retained or whether they are replaced by new ones in the same design? As long as the new building looks like it has the same facade, isn’t that what matters?
The whole of Les Bourgs was knocked down and re-built. I presume because it would have been too difficult to work with the old facade. The same is probably true here.
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I stand corrected: “with the replication of the brewery building, including the reuse of the granite arches and the Victorian railings which run along the front of the property. ” http://www.compropci.com/userfiles/file/Guernsey%20Brewery%20Application.pdf
But if it looks exactly like the original – what’s the problem? Five years from now how will we be able to tell?
Our Victorian forefathers would be laughing themselves silly – who needs this Georgian rubbish when we’ve got wonderful red bricks?
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Because the character would be lost. Just talking about keeping the main building frontage, not the whole row. Just keeps the aumbience of the area. Character I don’t feel can be replicated. If the development is to appeal to those who want new and those after character there is nothing lost from the point of view of sales. An old building restored looks attractive and appeals. All the buildings along the front are highly visitor visible, so we should aim to keep the quaility frontage buildings where they exist, and I see this building front one of those.
As to who could afford to live in one, I suspect it may well only be those with deep pockets (yet again).
I am all for a mix of open, local and affordable housing in developments like this, even just adding one or two properties in this category helps.
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To clarify – which of these brewery buildings do you wish to preserve:
http://www.compropci.com/pageimages/68.jpg
The proposals replicate the one on the left (tho why I’m not sure – it does not strike me as particularly distinguished, other than being ‘old’) and replace the centre and left buildings – which strike me as undistinguished and downright ugly respectively…
You want to keep all three?
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I would keep the buildings on the far left that carry the same roof line, so I think that is left and middle includes the one with the arch.
This also fits in with the new proposed building layout on the developers website on the pictures available to see in the very first post on this article.
So it is not changing anything being designed by incorporating keeping the facade of the original building.
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I agree, they should keep as much of the old building as possible. The last thing we want is for that end of town to start looking like the Admiral Park area.. they should never have built any of those monstrosities as it is, by allowing that to happen other people with development ideas think they can do the same, slowly but surely the belovid and quirky bits of St Peter Port will be wiped out. In my opion they are better off leaving it as it is than turning it into over priced eyesore flats. Our town sea front is the first thing tourists see when they come in and we are such a small island we cant afford to turn ourselves into a ‘mini city’ The environment department are very good at giving people with money what they want, I just wish they would sit up and start doing their jobs properly.
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A lovely place to live,what with the views,and if the wind is coming off the sea you will still be able to enjoy what you ate yesterday!And one can “roll home” after a good night at the Havelet!
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Seeing the sensational headline, I took a look at ComProp’s website expecting to be greeted with some radically different monstrosity.
What greeted me was rather different, and after a quick peruse at the plans, I concluded that this project looks like little more than the replacement of one box with a slightly bigger one.
If they were building something radically different I could understand the concern, but this is hardly that – you can barely tell the difference from a distance.
It’s certainly not the “assault” Mr Schute describes. I can only conclude that this is yet another one of those times when some Guerns object to change simply because it’s different, or they need something else to moan about down the pub.
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The site needs developing but having seen the plans they are not the most attractive buildings but suppose they will win an award to justify the development like many others. If they win an award then they must be good! What do we peasants know?
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Mr Schute,
Do us all a favour and jump back in your horse and cart and trot off into the sunset.
This is the 21st century, the new building is a huge improvement.
Yet again the Press gives loads of space to a one-man whinge.
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This is outrageous, the building isn’t even similar to what was there. No first time local buyer will be able to afford a flat either, it’ll be some foreigners buying them!
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Can’t agree with you Mr G. When I looked at the artist’s impression (taken I presume from the Harbour) I had to do a double-take. You can barely tell the difference from that distance!
Of course there are differences upon closer inspection but it’s hardly incongruous – and you’d wouldn’t expect new flats to look like a decaying brewery now, would you?
Frankly I’d rather see a new development than some dilapidated old brewery site that makes the island look like it’s in decline. Now that’s an assault on the seafront.
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Would I be pushing my luck to suggest some Guernsey Granite be incorporated in the facade ?
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Just a shame they could not rebuild it to fir in with the Credit Suisse buildings further along .
This would have fitted into the rest of the area.
Like someone has said will the hill climb still be allowed ?
perhaps this should be included in any lease or sale documents.
After all it is a Guernseys man/woman heritage to race up this hill so many time per year .
I look forwards to having this area tidies up.
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I’ve seen mr schute down soldiers bay before with his stick and binoculars.
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Are these the people who still owe us a multiplex cinema?
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Yes, and to me the obvious place to put a new multiplex is the old slaughterhouse site down the road. In the meantime can we just get on with this well overdue development and make 2012 a year of action instead of another 12 months of negative whining and moaning from the ‘leave things as they are’ brigade?
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Yes Bert Spear same company. perhaps they can reuse the site they were going to build it on .
A multi storey car park would fit in there. taking the cars out of the main town
A good little earner as well as it would always be needed .. they could go down a few levels to build it and put a green space on top .
no one would see it then.
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Well said, Martino.
Mr Schute and his ilk would have us living in caves still.
It’s called progress people.
Which is why we have internet forums!
Embrace it.
And as for a multiplex, great idea, but who exactly would fill it to make it a financial success?
Fear the population isn’t being enough to make it work
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I took a look at the website too. It’s ok. Not what I’d describe as “iconic”, “breathtaking”, or “award-winning”. Just a fairly standard modern-ish looking block of flats.
Calling it an “assault on the seafront” is really going too far. It’s on of those ‘shrug and move on’ stories, as far as I’m concerned.
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No imagination whatsoever, square boxes filled in with glass. Most volume at least cost and totally out of keeping with the old look of St Peter Port when approaching from the sea.
Yes the buildings had become dilapidated, that’s no excuse for more unimaginative glass monstrosities.
The only acceptable part appears to be the corner building with the granite arch.
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I wonder how long it will be before wealthy residents move in, because thats what they will be, and join the noise abatement society to stop the hillclimb.
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Google ‘UK council flats’ to check out the crack team of well paid designers inspiration for this multi million pound project.
….uncanny! ;)
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The Hill Climb is on a public road so that should be ok. I think the glass windows wont be openable as they will be keeping the smell of Havelet Bay when it is covered in seaweed, unless that will be banned too!
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The sad thing is, it displays what a woeful situation our construction industry is in when only buildings of this nature are “commercially viable” on the island. Quick to fabricate, quick to profit. No skill or artistry in their manufacture.
It shows us for what we truly are – short term profiteers more interested in our money rather than the beauty of our surroundings.
IKEAvalet bay is born.
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I’m all for character and creativity so am totally against this boring, boxy, bland, dull monstrousity. It looks cheap, like a boring office block and will look worse as it ages and looses its clean crisp new and shiny look. If it were only made a little prettier by a bit of victoriana and/or something creative here and there it would be totally acceptable. Its a good start but that is all.
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OK. Let’s put one rectangular glass and concrete block on top of another rectangular glass and concrete block.
Just another question. Why do architects never raise their families in modern, square houses made of glass, and instead prefer living in traditional granite or brick constuctions?
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I can only assume Mr Schute views Comprop’s design as “an assault on the seafront” because it is such a positively dull piece of architecture.
Find us a modern day Frank Lloyd Wright or a Gaudi I say!
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