Les Mielles Golf & Country Club

WQ.123/2026

WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT BY DEPUTY A. MALTMAN OF ST. MARY, ST. OUEN AND ST. PETER

QUESTION SUBMITTED ON MONDAY 6th JULY 2026 ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON MONDAY 13th JULY 2026

Question

"Will the Minister detail any planning designations, protections, constraints or obligations that currently apply to the site of Les Mielles Golf and Country Club in St Ouen's Bay, and advise what planning policies apply in the event of any proposed change of use, redevelopment or intensification of activity on the site?"

Answer

Any proposed change of use, redevelopment or intensification of activity at Les Mielles Golf and Country Club would need to satisfy both the policy objectives relating to the retention of sports and recreational facilities and the stringent environmental and landscape protections that apply to this nationally important coastal location.

The Les Mielles Golf and Country Club site is located within the St Ouen's Bay coastal plain, one of the Island's most environmentally and visually sensitive areas. The site lies within the Coastal National Park, where the highest level of landscape and seascape protection applies. Development proposals within the park must protect or improve its special landscape and seascape character, be compatible with the purposes of the Coastal National Park, and must not undermine its special qualities or setting.

Accordingly, any proposal involving a change of use, redevelopment, extension of facilities or intensification of activity at Les Mielles Golf and Country Club would be assessed against the key policy provisions of the bridging Island Plan, including:

• Policy PL5: Countryside, coast and marine environment;

• Policy NE3: Landscape and seascape character;

• Policy CI7 relating to sport, recreation and open space facilities;

• Other relevant strategic plan policies and thematic development management policies concerning economic value, design quality, traffic generation and parking, infrastructure, biodiversity and environmental impact would also apply, depending on the nature of any emergent proposal.

Where a proposal sought to change the use of the site to something other than a golf course or recreational facility, Policy CI7 would be of particular relevance. As an existing sports and recreation facility, there would be a presumption in favour of retaining recreational provision unless it could be demonstrated that the loss of that use was justified.

Given the site's location within the Coastal National Park and the environmentally sensitive landscape of St Ouen's Bay, any proposal for intensive development would also need to demonstrate compliance with the Island Plan's spatial, countryside, landscape and biodiversity policies, which afford a high degree of protection to the site and its setting.

Any proposal that conflicted with the existing policy framework for the site would need to be supported by a convincing case and robust evidence, together with a clear and reasoned justification demonstrating why departure from established Island Plan policy should be permitted. This would require the applicant to show not only that the loss of the recreational use was justified, but also that any wider planning, environmental, social or economic benefits were sufficient to outweigh the significant policy protections that apply to the site.