Vinery Application given thumbs up, without skips

Wednesday 23 October 2019

Deputies on the Development & Planning Authority have said a vinery on Oatlands Lane can be converted to Light Industrial Units, but with the caveat that a skip lorry will not be allowed to use them.

Today the DPA assembled for a second Open Planning Meeting on the Domarie and Avondale Vineries.

The first ended in "shambles", as the members deferred making any decision. That deferral came because they wanted more information on how the traffic systems would work around the entrance and exit to the site. It opens out on to Oatlands Lane, which is one way, but has a cycle path travelling in the other direction.

Pictured: The Domarie Vinery on Oatlands Lane.

At today's meeting some of that additional information was on offer, although the applicant had not done as Deputy Lester Queripel had previously requested and contacted an adjacent site owner to ask about getting access through that property. After once again hearing from a number of residents, viewing videos which had been filmed to show how a skip lorry would enter and exit the vineries, and then asking detailed questions about how the access would work, DPA President Deputy Dawn Tindall decided to give her backing to the application. 

Deputy Queripel and Alderney Representative Alex Snowdon however did not have as much confidence in how safe a skip lorry using the site would be. There were concerns over it entering the cycle path when exiting the site. Drivers would also have to look to their right to watch the traffic, but their left to watch for cyclists and pedestrians. 

Mr Snowdon said it was also a choice for drivers between having a blind spot or driving into the cycle path. It had been recommended the lorry only be allowed access once a week, but that was not safe enough, he suggested. 

Pictured: Residents have been protesting the development since it was first aired as an idea. 

They decided to back the proposals, but with the caveat of not allowing the skip lorry to use the site. This, the Planning Department said, would be enforced through surveillance. If the rule is breached, Planning could theoretically rescind the application. 

Residents of the area, who were strongly against this application being approved, were not happy with the decision. Speaking at the end of the meeting, they felt the process had been biased. They also felt their concerns over green space, road safety and having industrial units so close to so many long-standing houses were not listened to. 

Pictured top: Deputy Dawn Tindall, Deputy Lester Queripel, and Alderney Representative Alex Snowdon.