St Brelade

St. Brelade occupies Jersey's southwestern corner where granite cliffs meet some of the island's finest beaches, creating the tourism infrastructure that makes this parish simultaneously the least agricultural (24% cultivated) and the most visited. St. Brelade's Bay provides the golden sand beach that tourism marketing requires, drawing visitors whose spending supports the hospitality sector that agriculture once sustained.

The parish's 38% natural environment—highest in Jersey—reflects both coastal conservation and the granite headlands that resist development. Population of 11,012 makes St. Brelade Jersey's third most populous parish, the residents distributed between the beach resort zones and the more suburban inland areas. The built environment covers 29% of parish area, urbanization driven by tourism infrastructure rather than the finance sector that dominates St. Helier.

Watersports, coastal dining, and beach tourism define the parish's economic character, a seasonal pattern that differs from the year-round financial services elsewhere. Whether St. Brelade can maintain its natural assets while accommodating visitor pressure—or whether tourism success eventually degrades what tourists came to see—tests the carrying capacity that coastal ecosystems demonstrate.