Buy-Buy to parking around the People’s Park

Thursday 22 October 2020

The car park bordering the People’s Park, and alongside the old Inn on the Park, will be bought by the States to improve access to new hospital at Overdale, if it goes ahead on that site.

Responding to a written question in the States this week, the Government said that the new hospital plan proposed buying the car parks, the bowling green on Westmount Road, four fields, a corporate office and yard, one home still being built, three other houses, land around the People’s Park, and two verges in St John’s Road.

The People’s Park and the car parks all belong to the Parish of St Helier. 

If the States chose Overdale as the preferred site on 17 November, access up Westmount Road has to be improved before any construction can begin. That will require a separate planning application, which could be challenged and delay the project.

Pictured: The planned new road layout around the People's Park.

Widening, straightening and flattening Westmount Road means that the Jersey Bowling Club halfway up the hill has to go and St Aubin’s Road will become two-way along the whole length of the People’s Park, meaning that the car park – popular with residents leaving their vehicles overnight – has to go.

The Inn of the Park car park is being bought because the hospital plan envisages upgrading the nearby roundabout, “...to improve capacity, potentially requiring adjacent land."