Guernsey Housing Committee Seeks First Refusal on Three States-Owned Sites for Up to 150 Homes

Guernsey's Committee for Housing has lodged an amendment giving it first refusal on three States-owned sites for affordable and mixed-tenure housing, land that could yield between 70 and 150 homes if a proposed £22m children's services hub is approved. The BBC reported the amendment on October 21, 2026.

How the Guernsey Housing Amendment Would Work

The amendment to a policy letter on the proposed hub would give Housing the first opportunity to assess land at Lukis House, Swissville and Garden Hill. The sites would become available if children's services teams, currently spread across five locations, moved into a refurbished Raymond Falla House under Health and Social Care's plans.

Deputy Steve Williams, who lodged the amendment, said the move could create between 70 and 150 homes across the three sites. "They're in a great location near facilities in St Peter Port, and they're also States-owned, so we wouldn't have to buy land to add more housing," he said.

Williams said the amendment was intended to avoid a "stop-start approach" to housing delivery and create a pipeline of future development sites. Under the proposals, Housing would be required to identify land suitable for development and confirm its intentions before the properties were made available for other purposes. The amendment states that affordable and mixed-tenure housing should be prioritised if the sites were suitable and viable.

Williams said estimates for the number of homes were based on the acreage of the sites and described the range as provisional. "It's a very broad range at the moment, I think, across all three of these. It may be anywhere between about 70 and 150 homes," he said. "This amendment gives us a first priority look at the sites and, obviously, if they don't work for us, they don't work for us."

Scrutiny of the Children's Services Hub Cost

The plans have faced scrutiny over their cost. The Scrutiny Management Committee has questioned whether a central hub represents the best use of public money and whether lower-cost alternatives had been fully explored. The children's services hub proposal is due to be debated by States members this week.

States of Guernsey Workforce and Health Leadership

According to akta.pro company records, the States of Guernsey advertised 151 job vacancies through the Bailiwick Vacancies portal in June 2026, 142 of them permanent positions. The same records list Mat Dorrian as Medical Director, a 2026 appointment. The States of Guernsey serves all residents of Guernsey and the wider Bailiwick, including Alderney and Sark, from its headquarters in St. Peter Port.

Earlier States of Guernsey Decisions

On September 5, 2026, Deputy David Goy proposed eight amendments to Guernsey's Policy and Resources tax plans, including a 30-day notice for consultant hiring and new civil servant posts over £100,000, while P&R's package includes a 3% GST and would raise about £40m annually, AOL.com reported. On September 2, 2026, Guernsey's States was considering parent-child parking spaces in town car parks, with calls from residents citing small spaces and difficulty with car seats, AOL.com reported.