£4m spent on hospital property purchases so far

Tuesday 20 April 2021

The Government has so far spent more than £4m on three homes that will be demolished to make way for the new hospital, Express has learned.

Hillcrest, which borders the field opposite Overdale, was sold on Friday 19 March, for £1.5m.

According to recently-published Royal Court documents, two more were sold on 26 March: 1 Castle View for £1.275m and 5 Castle View for £1.3m. 

The Government is planning to spend a total of nearly £16m on buying up homes, four fields and an office on Westmount to make way for the island’s new key health facility at Overdale.

Minister for Infrastructure Deputy Kevin Lewis has also approved the purchase of at least six more homes along Westmount Road: Amyerie, Berkeley Rise, Follyfield, and three at Westmount Terrace. 

It is not yet clear exactly how much will be spent on acquiring these, however a total of £12.5m has been budgeted for purchasing houses.  

Earlier this month, the Treasury Minister agreed to transfer £11.2m from the Government’s central coffers to fund some of those purchases in advance of a finance solution for the £804m main project being agreed.

This will be decided by the States Assembly this summer, when an ‘outline business case’ and a financing proposal will be presented to and then debated by States Members. 

The Government has already said the Hospital is likely to be funded at least in part by way of a loan, or a bond.