Oberlands development to test the water

Thursday 30 November 2023

A public-private partnership could see 21 properties built near the hospital and could lead to more shared use developments in the future if it all works out well for everyone involved.

The Guernsey Housing Association (GHA) will be working with Infinity Construction Limited (Infinity) for the potential development of six private dwellings and 15 key worker units on a field almost opposite the entrance to the hospital on Oberlands Road.

The States of Guernsey is supporting the deal which - if planning permission is secured - will see the GHA buy the 15 one-bedroom flats from Infinity once they are built.

Those properties would then be rented out to key workers, while Infinity would be able to sell the six larger properties through the private housing market.

Pictured: Paul Nobes; MD Infinity, Vic Slade; CEO GHA, and Deputy Peter Roffey are all supporting plans for a public-private partnership development on this field at the Oberlands.

Paul Nobes is Managing Director of Infinity Construction Limited, which already has planning permission for the site. The company will be submitting revised plans to allow the development of additional units and he hopes this could lead to further mixed use developments built in partnership with the States.

"It could be a nice mix use of the site, and would make the best use of the land available," Mr Nobes explained.

"Planning have got to agree, but they've been really positive so far with our plans and I don't see any problem with it going through."

Mr Nobes said if planning permission is achieved they could "have spades in the ground in March, probably doing some reduced level digging and with the right permissions we could start in April."

If that all goes to plan then the properties could be ready to be lived in around 18 months after that. 

Mr Nobes said they thought about the public/partnership idea because the "island is crying out" for both private housing and key worker housing.

With the economic landscape having changed over the past 18 months he thought that working with the GHA could be "a very cost effective way of building housing" for the different markets.

"We do a lot of private client stuff, but it's the first time we've actually worked with the States of Guernsey and GHA on anything," he said, adding:

"The site is perfect for a mixed tenure development. We believe, and hope, that this type of joint venture will prove to be a new and effective way of working and will be the template for public/private partnerships of this nature going forward across other housing development sites."

Vic Slade, Chief Executive, Guernsey Housing Association said she is really keen to work with Infinity having been impressed by their work in the private sector.

"I'm really excited, totally excited," she said.

"It's a little bit different for us because we're working in a different way and we're working with someone new so that's really exciting.

"We're excited to work with Infinity. They've worked hard for a long time and built their brand on quality so the opportunity to work with them is really exciting.

"I think we can learn a lot from them through this process and they owned the site so to be able to have a discussion with them around whether there'd be an opportunity for a different way of working with its proximity to the hospital was really well received and they're really open to that.

"For us, it means aligning with State's priorities, which is what we need to do if there's public subsidy involved, and we're trying to get the best use for this particular site in terms of the hospital and being very conscious of recruitment, retention challenges, particularly for health.

"It was an amazing opportunity and the fact that infinity were prepared to think about doing this public private model with us is really exciting.

"What we're hoping is we can test this model on this site and if it works well and we get a great product, I'm sure we will at the end of it, and if the price and quality are right then hopefully, that's the way we can work in future."

Deputy Peter Roffey, President of the Committee for Employment & Social Security said even with this proposed development, and two others nearby at La Charroterie and the Ruette Braye, key worker housing - and private homes - are still desperately needed across the island.

"It's the biggest issue for us at the moment," he said, "and key worker housing is an important element of that.

"We know from our colleagues at HSC, they're tearing their hair out for accommodation, they're losing staff that would come here but can't because they can't find anywhere to live so the more sites we can get really close to the PEH for the specialist type of housing, the better."

More to come...

In tomorrow's daily email, FOCUS on housing will explore the current developments in progress and how key worker housing and private dwellings are the priority for young people, the States, the GHA, and the construction sector.