NEWS ARCHIVE
19th CENTURY COTTAGE REMAINS UNDER THREAT
La Fantaisie, a 200-year old Cottage Ornée in St Saviour remains under threat despite a States decision to protect it. Urged on by Save Jersey's Heritage the States threw out an attempt by Deputy Lyndon Farnham to "de-list" it. After a three hour debate the proposition was overwhelmingly defeated by 27 votes to 15.
The charming building is owned by the Seymour Hotel Group and sits in the grounds of the Merton Hotel. Despite protests from the company, Jersey's Planning & Environment Committee officially listed the house last year.
Deputy Farnham, who has since left the States but who, at the time of the Debate had responsibility for the Island's tourism industry, wanted the States Assembly to reverse that decision because, he claimed, it is inhibiting plans for the whole site......[more]
Waterfront Hotel is 'Architectural Carbuncle'
The Radisson SAS Waterfront Hotel has been voted the winner of the Carbuncle Cup by the readers of the online magazine Building Design. The announcement was made on the eve of the Stirling Prize and labels the Radisson as the professions choice of least impressive building of the year.
London-based EPR Architects managing director Stuart Lowther said he was ‘extremely disappointed’ by the result. And although the award bears out SAVE's initial concern with the development, this should be seen as aspur to campaigners members of the public alike to make sure that this ignominy is not copied in the rest of the Waterfront Development.
700 AT WATERFRONT PROTEST RALLY
Around
700 islanders braved a biting north-easterly wind to mount a
protest against tall buildings on the Waterfront. Addressed by
Save Jersey's Heritage President, Marcus Binney, they showed their
opposition to the idea of a single 20-storey tower within sight of
Elizabeth Castle. Among those who watched the demonstration was
Planning Minister Senator Freddie Cohen. Marcus Binney praised the
Minister for being willing to take comments and urged those
present to talk to him about their concerns. Save Chairman,
Advocate Christopher Scholefield, said the organisation did not
have faith in the Waterfront Enterprise Board to develop the area
to a standard which would do justice to the Island. Those who
gathered on the beach at West Park, in the shadow of the
Waterfront, were told that a 20-storey block would stand about 45
feet higher than the crane which has recently been erected for the
construction of a new hotel.
Art Deco Masterpiece Lives Again
Les Lumières, the International-style house on La Route Orange in St Brelade, has been completely restored in a way that would almost certainly have impressed its designer, the architect Arthur Grayson. The new owners moved in during June after completing a spectacular two-year makeover overseen by architects Axis Mason and builders Stansells. They willingly complied with restrictions from the former Planning Committee that saw Hope's Sliding & Folding Windows retained and the interior fittings - designed by Grayson - refurbished or copied by craftsmen in Yorkshire.
Commissioned
by the builders' merchant, Ernest "Tony" Huelin in 1934,
Les Lumières was expected to cost £2,500 but delays
pushed the price to £10,000. It's not known how much the new
owners spent on the latest restoration work, completed exactly
seventy years after the house was built...[more]