In brief: The political movement Value Jersey has formally backed a planning application for the Sauna Society to remain at St Catherine, following the collapse of a larger Waterfront wellness project. Value Jersey chair Lee Madden argues that good planning should enable well-considered proposals, not default to obstruction. Jersey Business and Visit Jersey have also submitted supportive comments.
From Waterfront to Woodland Shore
It has been a winding road for Cole McLean’s sauna ambitions. The Bailiwick Express reports that planning permission was granted in 2025 for a Waterfront wellness club that would have featured two 20-person saunas, six ice baths and a heated magnesium therapy pool at Waterfront Gardens. By September, however, Mr McLean confirmed the scheme was dead in the water, so to speak: complicated structural requirements and rising construction costs had made it financially unviable.
Rather than pack up his towels entirely, Mr McLean pivoted. He confirmed he had agreed a different location for a new sauna wellness facility and simultaneously sought permission to continue operating his existing mobile sauna on La Route de St Catherine. That application is now attracting some notable political backing.
Value Jersey Throws Its Weight Behind the Bid
Value Jersey chair Lee Madden has submitted a formal representation in support of the St Catherine planning application. The group describes the proposal, which seeks an initial temporary permission of five years, as the sort of “positive, proportionate initiative” that Jersey should be encouraging.
Mr Madden was careful to acknowledge the sensitivities of the location, describing St Catherine as “an important and sensitive coastal location” whose environment, heritage and natural character warranted protection. But he pushed back firmly against the notion that environmental safeguards and responsible enterprise must inevitably conflict.
“Good planning should be capable of protecting what matters while enabling well-considered proposals to proceed,” he said. He argued that a temporary permission would allow the business to establish itself, demonstrate its value and be assessed on its actual performance in practice, rather than being judged on hypothetical concerns.
Mr Madden also took a broader swipe at planning culture, warning that lengthy processes, uncertainty and unnecessary restrictions could increase costs, deter investment and discourage local businesses from getting off the ground. “The planning system must protect the public interest, but it should not create unnecessary friction or default to searching for reasons why a proposal cannot proceed,” he said.
Value Jersey’s support is not unconditional. The group stated it was contingent on planners being satisfied that environmental, heritage, transport, safety and other relevant issues had been properly addressed.
Broader Support for the Application
Value Jersey is not alone in its enthusiasm. According to the group, both Jersey Business and Visit Jersey have also submitted comments in support of the application. That alignment of a political movement, a business support body and the Island’s tourism agency suggests a fairly broad consensus that a mobile sauna at a scenic coastal spot is not, in fact, a threat to civilisation as we know it.
Mr Madden framed the proposal in terms of its wider contribution, arguing that it “makes positive use of Jersey’s natural setting, broadens the Island’s leisure and wellbeing offering and gives a local business the opportunity to demonstrate its contribution in practice.”
Source: Bailiwick Express
