AN ARTIST’S impression is all well and good as long as it is taken at face value as one person’s idea of what something could look like, and not as a true representation of what will be.

Developers are extremely fond of the artists’ impressions and could not do their jobs without them. How else could architects’ blueprints and draughtsmen’s detailed plans be understood without a skilled artist to convert technical gobbledygook into pretty pictures, which even those who can’t tell one side of a drawing board from another can understand?

There is a veritable community of artists who specialise in turning plans into pretty pictures and scale models to woo prospective buyers to part with their hard-earned cash, or to show planning authorities how developments will fit into proposed locations.

These delightful impressions can be very seductive, with picture book houses set in pristine gardens shaded by full-grown trees heavy with foliage or blossom. To add a homely appeal, there is the usual scattering of shiny environmentally-friendly cars and groups of the mother/father/2.4 children nuclear family unit relaxing on patios, indulging in healthy activities or throwing a ball or two for a happy dog.

Or, if the purpose is to appeal to a higher income bracket, the artist is briefed to show a seafront development of luxury apartments with sun-trap balconies set against plate-glass frontages with panoramic views of the setting sun as it disappears into a rose-tinted sea.

All set, naturally, above wind-protected promenades lined with cafés, designer stores and restaurants fronted by celebrity or Michelin-star chefs and all frequented by a smart set with money to burn.

If that fails to win us over, how about draping a larger-than-life picture of said celebrity chef in his pristine whites, or a blow-up of the artist’s impression, over the hoardings of a building site to whet appetites for what is to come?

From experience of developments old and new, loved and loathed, Islanders know that when the hoardings come down to at last reveal the long-promised latest iconic building, the collective response is more likely to be one of disappointment rather than universal glee at the enrichment of our landscape.

The artist who illustrated the world-renowned architect Sir Richard MacCormac’s designs for the development on the site of the former Portelet Holiday Camp did such a good job that it won Dandara a national architecture award. Not that I wish to detract from Sir Richard’s obvious talent, but I can’t help wondering how he could win such an award when a development is not yet finished.

The artist’s impression reproduced in the Jersey Evening Post certainly fitted the stereotype, with a sports car or two partially obscured by a lush garden and a squadron of seagulls fluttering into view intent on dumping their lunch down the glimmering plate-glass windows – as they do.

As the judges of the Daily Mail UK Property Awards 2009 were architects, property owners and architectural correspondents or writers, they were well placed – and far less cynical than the man or woman in the street – when considering the artists’ impressions. After all, they deal with them on a daily basis, and it is nice for a change that this little rock can bask in Dandara’s reflected glory.

Having won applause from national experts, the company’s plans now go forward to the International Property Awards, which are being held in California later this year, so our fame will spread.

There are many who do not share Dandara’s optimism that the redevelopment of the ugly holiday village will turn out to be an improvement, even if it fulfils the criteria of providing ‘beautiful homes with unrivalled views’. The view will undoubtedly be sensational from inside, but what will it be like for those looking back? Unfortunately, the artist’s impression does not take in the surrounding area, so how can we tell what the development will look like from Noirmont, Portelet Common or out at sea?

In the week when Dandara proudly announced their award, Sky Travel rated Portelet Bay one of the top ten beaches in the world. Notwithstanding the growing development atop its lofty heights and a dilapidated wreck of an old café and toilet block at beach level, Sky Travel’s web editor, Kevin Ashworth, was blown away by its natural beauty. He didn’t need an artist’s impression, just a dose of reality to show him what we all know – that Jersey is full of surprises when we open our eyes.

Perhaps we’ve all become a tad too complacent and used to our surroundings to realise how blessed we are. So when developers, architects and those with aspirations to live in properties of Grand Design proportions come up with plans to develop in areas of outstanding natural beauty anywhere in this Island, they must consider not just the plot boundaries, but the wider surrounding area.

Would MacCormack’s design for the Portelet Bay development look quite as attractive if the artist had stretched the frame a mile or two in all directions? It may or it may not fulfil its promise and the jury is out until the reality rises above the bay.

In these days of computer wizardry, surely the technology exists to take an artist’s impression a step further by creating a life-sized holographic representation that could be projected on to a proposed development for the duration of the public consultation. It would certainly be an improvement on the scaffold profiles that Planning currently ask developers to erect to help officers in their considerations.

As an afterthought, exactly what is planned for the deserted and decaying old holiday camp café? As part of the award-winning development above, will it be demolished and the site restored? Or has it been forgotten in the wider scheme of things?

I hope that there exists somewhere in Dandara’s vaults an artist’s impression of its fate that will enhance this beautiful bay at sea level, regardless of what will eventually sit above.