Selfish homeowner complains about Planning enforcing the law

I've said it before and I'll say it again: some folks just can't take a hint.

Ivor Barrette, St. Mary farmer and long-term arch-nemesis of the Planning Department , has lodged a complaint with the States Complaint Board over his supposed "mistreatment" at the hands of the PD. Barrette was fined £50K in 2016 after Planning took him to court for breaking planning laws. Why? Let's look at the history of the case, and see who's really being mistreated here.

In December 2009, Barrette received a letter from the Planning Department notifying him that his property was now "listed" - a special category of historic building, subject to far more stringent planning regulations. The month after, in January 2010, he received a similar letter, which explained the concept of a listed building and explicitly told him that he wasn't allowed to make any modifications to the house without planning permission.

Barrette, who was planning to make modifications to the building at the time, decided that actually, you know what, let's just forget about silly little things like planning regulations, and began working on the house in 2011. Seemingly believing himself to be above the law, he "gutted" (in the JEP's words) the interior of his house, removing 15 historic windows without receiving planning permission. Planning found out about his illegal modifications, and they sent Barrette an enforcement notice ordering him to put the windows back in place. Having received no response, Planning decided to send some of their boys down to investigate - the planning officers turn up at Barrette's house, only to find the charred remains of the historic windows on Barrette's bonfire.

Planning obviously pursued legal action - Barrette was now not only flouting regulations, but destroying protected historic fittings and ignoring both officials and their enforcement notices. He was tried in 2016 and received a £50K fine for two counts of breaching the Planning and Building (Jersey) Law - allegations which Barrette himself pleaded guilty to. Then Barrette decided to throw his toys out the pram.

Barrette covered his house in signs such as the one on the left ( or above if you’re reading on mobile) — including a few more recent additions reading something along the lines of "IS THIS WHAT YOU CALL A FAIR AND JUST SOCIETY" and "IAN GORST. KRISTINA MOORE. JULIETTE GALLICHAN". You'll have seen them if you've ever driven to St. Mary's School or the parish hall from the west - a big farmhouse covered in signs trashing the planning department, great if you're looking to attract attention but not so much if you're an innocent driver who has to put up with being exposed to this nonsense. He also accused planning officers Jeremy Bolton and Keith Bray of bullying him and his wife - according to Barrette, this "bullying" consisted of turning up once every two weeks to check on the state of the property.

(frankly, considering Barrette's record of serial rule-breaking I'm surprised Planning weren't turning up more often)

Neither Bolton and Bray are in a position to defend themselves - one is ill, while the other has started a new life in Scotland. Chris Jones, a senior planner, answered when questioned that the amount of visits Barrette received wasn't normal - unsurprisingly, cases like these attract slightly more attention from planners - but Graeme Marett, a fellow member of the States Complaints Board, made the point that there's no legal restriction on how often planning officers are allowed to check on properties.

So in summary - arrogant man thinks he's above the law, Planning shows him that he isn't, man gets in a huff and starts accusing others of bullying him and breaking the rules.

The worst part is that Barrette's case has been taken up by the new Connétable de St. Mary, John le Bailly, who, having "known Mr Barrette for 35 years" said he was "supportive" of Barrette renovating his home - or, as we would understand it, he's fine with one of his mates irreparably damaging a historic building.

I believe this is called the "Jersey Way", eh, Mr le Bailly?