GOREY Village is ready for a fight to stop Jersey Pottery building a restaurant on Gorey Common.

Angry residents have spoken of their outrage and disappointment at the way in which the proposal has been put forward.

They say that the land, designated an area of international importance by the 1971 Ramsar Convention, is enjoyed by thousands of visitors and Islanders alike every year and should be left alone.

Particularly upset was Gorey Village resident Vicky Jackson, who has organised a petition against the Oyster Box development which already has hundreds of names.

‘You can’t go to the shop without being stopped by 15 people on the way who can’t believe what is being proposed.

They think it is some sort of joke,’ she said.

She also lambasted the Chefs Tenants du Fief de la Reine, the group that administer the common, for being ‘out of touch’ with the people of Grouville after they approved the plans last month.

‘It is the last piece of green land left between here and St Helier.

How could the Chefs Tenants be so out of touch that they would think the parish would be behind this? We feel completely let down by them.

‘That site is to us like the sand dunes are to the people of St Ouen,’ she said.