States buy Braye Lodge site from MSG for healthcare housing

Wednesday 26 July 2023

£1.8m of public money has been committed to the purchase of Braye Lodge from the Medical Specialist Group, where at least 20 new properties could be built for hospital staff.

The Guernsey Housing Association would manage the homes and will enter discussions with the Development & Planning Authority to see if more homes could be constructed on the site.

It hopes that the housing could be ready in 2026 but the sale of the site is yet to be finalised, and consultation with the DPA, drawing up of plans and submission of a planning application needs to happen.

The site was purchased by the MSG in 2019 for £1.5m to provide additional parking for staff, and part of the deal involved a third party private landowner which has agreed to create a new parking area on nearby land.

A development framework for the land was drawn up in 2017 which said between 10 and 20 homes could be built in future.

Deputy Peter Roffey, President of Employment & Social Security which is responsible for the island’s key worker housing stock, said the purchase is “part of an ongoing effort to relieve the well documented accommodation shortage for HSC employees.

“But clearly, this is an absolutely ideal site as far as key worker housing is concerned… I think we'd be foolish not to have taken the opportunity to secure this site.”

Pictured: The building hasn't been used for housing since 2015 and will be demolished if planning permission is granted. 

Deputy Roffey added that the hope is to get “considerably more than 20 units” but said it was better to not “over promise and under deliver” as the true developability of the site is down to HSC’s needs and any planning constraints.

“So, what we're saying is as a minimum we expect to get 20 units. But, particularly if they're small units, if they are one bedroom units rather than a family unit, I suspect that this site could actually yield quite a lot more than that."

MSG Chair Steve Evans said there was strong demand from prospective purchasers for the site but the Group decided to sell to the States.

“We thought this was the best for the island. We weren't completely altruistic, but this was a good deal and I think it's a good deal for us, it's a good deal for the Housing Association and a good deal for the States.

“And hopefully it'll help recruit key workers to the island and we benefit from that because if we can't get nursing staff or hospital staff, or teachers can't teach the children then people aren't going to come here.”

Mr Evans added that the scheme is “in line with our values of putting the patient first, partnership and long-term sustainability”.

The GHA also purchased a site on La Charroterie for £1.7m last year to build 54 one-bedroom flats for key workers. A planning application for that project is expected to be submitted in September.

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