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A planning application for the new £800m hospital at Overdale and its highway is due to be submitted today.
During October’s debate over the plan for borrowing the future hospital, several States Members raised concerns about elements of the designs released so far.
A panel of politicians aiming to cap spending on what will become the island’s key health building at £550m suggested that money could be saved by cutting the overall size of the building and car park, reducing “beautification” and delaying the creation of a ‘Knowledge Centre’ comprising administrative and learning zones.
But Chief Minister Senator John Le Fondré argued that it was too late to make such changes, with the planning application due to be submitted by 15 November (today).
“To get the rubber out and start redesigning it in six weeks ain’t gonna happen,” he warned.
The day after the debate, which saw States Members agree to the Government’s plan to borrow two lots of £400m to finance the facility, a planning application to demolish the existing buildings at Overdale – including the recently refurbished Child Development and Therapy Centre – was submitted.
It has since received nearly 70 comments from the public – the majority of which have been objections, arguing that destroying new and refurbished buildings before plans for a new hospital have been agreed would be a “reckless” and “costly” gamble.
A decision on the demolition application is still yet to be made.
Pictured: The demolition planning application concerns both buildings that are in use, and others that have remained in a state of disrepair for many years.
The main planning application, which is still yet to appear on the online planning register, will not only include the creation of the new building and its associated landscaping, but the realignment of Westmount Road and the demolition of properties outside the Overdale site such as the Jersey Bowling Club, the Jersey Water building and some private properties.
Included in the submitted documents will be an Environmental Impact Assessment assessing how wildlife in the area will be impacted.
Unlike the demolition application, the hospital planning application will entail a full public inquiry, allowing islanders and interested bodies to make submissions on all elements.
That inquiry is expected to take place in late spring, with permission hoped to be received in summer 2022, allowing construction to start straight after.
The first element of the construction process will focus on Westmount Road, enabling the wider project.
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