PUTTING 15 houses on the land around the old Queen of the Universe Church in Millbrook would be an overdevelopment, according to planning officers.

An application to build the homes on the site will be considered by the planning applications panel tomorrow, and officers have recommended they turn it down.

Lisianski Ltd want to demolish the church and La Remise cottage on Route de St Aubin in St Lawrence and put 15 two-bedroom homes in their place.

In their report, planning officers say the potential development has caused ‘considerable public concern’ regarding its scale and impact on neighbouring properties, the loss of the trees from the site and the potential for the development to result in flooding in the area.

They say: ‘Permission has been granted for the construction of two three-bedroom dwellings within the garden of the retained La Remise property.

‘Pre-application advice was sought for the development of the entire site for 17 dwellings to which the department responded stating that the proposal was an overdevelopment of the site.

Further verbal advice to significantly reduce the scale of the development has not been acted upon and it is now proposed to develop the site for 15 dwellings.

It is considered that the proposal is an overdevelopment of the site and the department is minded to recommend refusal.’ Officers go on to say that Lisianski have failed to demonstrate that the development of the site would not result in an increased risk of flooding.

‘The applicant will need to prepare a detailed assessment of the potential flood risk that the scheme poses and this is likely to take a considerable length of time,’ the report says.