New Hospital - £17m spent already and still no final decisions

Thursday 12 October 2017

£17million has already been spent on the project to build a new hospital, even though detailed plans are yet to be submitted, and no funding plan has been agreed - with more than half of that poured into advisors’ fees alone.

The £466million 'Future Hospital' is set to be Jersey’s largest ever capital project - but after years of preparation, final plans are still yet to be confirmed.

But an Express Freedom of Information (FOI) request revealed that nearly £17.4million has already been spent on getting the project up and running.

Those costs included feasibility work, offsite and relocation works and Planning fees.

Obtaining external advice was the largest cost by a significant margin at £9,052,420.65 as of August 2017. That advice spanned the areas of technical, legal, financial and procurement issues - it's not clear whether some of that money has been spent putting together plans for the proposed 'bond' which may form part of the hospital funding package. 

Pictured: An Express FOI revealed what has been spent so far on the Future Hospital project.

Offsite preliminary works came in at £5.4million, while ‘internal client costs’ stood at £1.4million.

£367k has been used for relocation works and £217k was spent on property. 

Planning fees have so far come to £212k, although detailed hospital plans are yet to be submitted. They are expected following a consultation.

According to a 2016 report by the Council of Ministers, “detailed development and design work” was due to be brought before the States Assembly before this year’s summer recess.

That target was missed, however, amid delays to the funding plans. It was announced this week that proposals on how to finance the building of the new hospital will now be put forward in December.

Pictured: Old vs new - how the new hospital is expected to look once complete.

Despite interruptions to the original schedule, the FOI response said that the project had nonetheless “progressed broadly in accordance with anticipated actions.”

No further funding for the Future Hospital was included in the Draft Budget for 2018. The response confirmed, however, that the forecast costs to be incurred by 2017 “are within the currently allocated budget.” 

So far, completed actions include:

• the project brief and execution plan are complete. 

• Site assessment works for the preferred site are in train.

• Activity assessments have concluded and inform the completed Outline Business Case. 

• The concept design to RIBA Stage 2 for the main hospital is complete. 

• The procurement strategy is complete.

• An outline planning application has been submitted.

• The tendering process for a construction partner is in train. 

• The various relocation works packages are in train. 


Information from a previous FOI request broke down the costs further.  

By the end of April 2017, revamping the William Knott and Poplars Buildings at the Overdale site came at a cost of £2,650,207, while work on the Eva Wilson Centre where speech and therapy services are located had cost £669,247. Improvements to the hospital’s Samares Ward cost £965,403.  

The States also spent £1,329,212 on a lease at Eagle House.  

Where the hospital should be located was the subject of much debate last year when it emerged that People’s Park was being considered. A part-revamp, part-newbuild solution was subsequently agreed upon at the current site, but some still contend that the new site should be based at the old St Saviour Hospital. Feasibility studies for a dual site solution cost £58,426.