As residents of the North of St Helier, we’ve kept a keen eye on the buildings around Bath Street in anticipation of the redevelopment of the area. The Masterplan for the area was set out in 2009, revised in 2010 and again in 2011 but now, a decade later, we hope that the latest scheme proposed for the area by Le Masurier will get the green light.
The proposition includes, crucially, an element of benefit to our beleaguered tourism industry. With growth now somewhat hampered by the availability of beds, a second Premier Inn might be just what the visitor ordered. Add to that the transformation of a dilapidated set of mish-mashed buildings into a greenery-rich housing development with open spaces and cut throughs to the the library and Bean Around the World and it’s something we’d love to see in our neighbourhood, compounding positive moves from other developments around the town park and creating a city-like urban centre.
The proposed £70m redevelopment (with no cost to us taxpayers) sees Le Masurier, the Jersey property investment and development company, entered into an Agreement To Lease with Whitbread, Premier Inn’s parent company, The proposed Bath Street Redevelopment will provide for substantial regeneration, employment, housing and a boost for tourism. It will include:
- 122-bedroom latest generation Premier Inn hotel
- 145 high quality residential apartments and car parking
- New retail, bar and restaurant units
- A new pedestrian street connecting the Millennium Town Park to the library into town
- More green areas, pavement widening and street art
St Helier’s second Premier Inn is expected to create 35 new jobs and accommodate 40,000 overnight stays in Jersey, with the potential to attract annual visitor spend of £1.6 million and, in turn, support over 30 new year-round jobs in the tourism sector. The wider redevelopment is also expected to create over 70 full time jobs in the construction industry.
Le Masurier, which has remained under Jersey family ownership since 1835, is holding two public exhibitions of the plans for the Bath Street Redevelopment at the Freedom Centre (formerly the Odeon Cinema). Islanders are invited to attend on the afternoons of the 9th and 10th April to see images of the impressive new site and to leave feedback.
Brian McCarthy, Managing Director, Le Masurier, said:
“Our Bath Street Redevelopment represents a significant £70 million investment in St Helier, helping with the much-needed regeneration of the north of town and boosting tourism and business. In addition, the impressive new residential units will help to meet the demand for housing that the Island has, and St Helier specifically.”
Brian McCarthy, Managing Director, Le Masurier
He added: “We are delighted to partner with Whitbread in bringing a second Premier Inn to Jersey. Despite the whole Brexit uncertainty, this demonstrates Le Masurier’s confidence in investment in Jersey and also Whitbread’s confidence in the Island – and follows the success of their first Premier Inn at Charing Cross. I believe that this is a real success story for Jersey and will provide a host of social and economic benefits.”
Jacqui Allum, Head of Estate Development at Whitbread, said:
“We’re excited to sign an agreement to lease to bring a second Premier Inn to Jersey less than a year after opening our first on the Island. Jersey is a relatively new market for Premier Inn and our confidence to invest further in the Island has been underpinned by the strong performance of our Charing Cross hotel.
“Since opening in July 2018, the Charing Cross Premier Inn has consistently achieved above average occupancy rates and positive guest feedback. This strong performance, along with the high level of interest from our customers searching for Jersey on the PremierInn.com website, has encouraged us to partner with Le Masurier and invest in the Bath Street site.”
Simon Crowcroft, Constable of St Helier, said:
“I am delighted to support this major regeneration of the north of St Helier. It will significantly improve business and tourism in the area and, importantly, with more green areas and proposed wider pavements it will considerably improve the look and feel of this significant gateway to town.”
Let’s just remind ourselves how the area looks now and what could be gone in favour of a good looking new development in just two years:
Here’s hoping it gets the go ahead!
