Improvement notice issued over closed hotel

A "first of its kind" improvement notice has been issued to the owners of a former hotel site in Guernsey.

The Development & Planning Authority (DPA) has issued the owners of the former St. Margaret's Lodge hotel in St Martin with a Land Amenity Improvement Notice, which requires the landowner to improve the condition and appearance of the site.

The owners have been given nine months to clean up the site and make the necessary improvements, after the authority said it was "negatively affecting the area and posing a risk to safety".

The BBC has approached the owners for comment.

The authority said the notice was served after "unsuccessful attempts to resolve the matter informally without the need for a notice".

It said the site was in disrepair with broken windows and doors, overgrown vegetation, litter, was subject to vandalism and graffiti and attracted anti-social behaviour.

The hotel has been closed since 2016 after it was deemed not being fit for human habitation.

The authority said there had been pre-application planning inquiries about redeveloping the site, from visitor accommodation to residential uses, however, no further progress had been made.

Deputy Neil Inder, President of the Development & Planning Authority, said the notice was a last resort and he would rather have dealt with it informally.

"We can't stand idly by while these eyesores still exist as blots on our landscape, which is why we've taken action," he said.

"Where owners look like they don't care about a building, the DPA will act for the greater good of the neighbours and islanders."

The owners have a right of appeal but if a notice is not complied with within 28 days a fine can be issued.

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