Reservoir Keeper’s Cottage sits at the entrance to the company’s Millbrook reservoir depot.
Built at the end of the 19th century, the single-storey cottage has been unoccupied for ten years.
Jersey Water’s managing director, Howard Snowden, said that they wanted to knock it down because the cost of repairing the cottage far outweighed its saleable value.
‘It is suffering from severe settlement,’ Mr Snowden said.
‘There is a ten-inch settlement across the building – if you put a ball down it would roll across the floor.’ The cost of stabilising the cottage, he said, was estimated at £333,000 and it would be worth only about £200,000 in a habitable state.
Also, Mr Snowden said, the property was not likely to attract a private buyer because it had no garden and was part of an operational works.
If the company is allowed to demolish the cottage, they hope to use the space to improve access to the works.
Mr Snowden said they did not intend to dispose of the granite without seeking advice from Island heritage organisations about recycling the stones.
