Select a region
There is “no scope” to use existing buildings at Overdale for the new hospital and they all have to be demolished, the project team has said in response to public outcry.
There have been 69 comments so far submitted alongside a planning application to knock down all 22 buildings that currently make up Overdale Hospital.
More than half of these have been assessed as in poor condition with many already vacant. However, some of them have only been constructed relatively recently.
The large Westmount Centre at the entrance to the site, for instance, was opened by the Duchess of Gloucester in 2004.
One commentator is former Planning Committee Chairman Alastair Layzell, who writes: “I think the demolition of perfectly serviceable buildings, some of them relatively new, in the absence of an approved planning application for a new hospital at Overdale, is not only premature but a misuse of public funds.”
Another member of the public, Margaret Mayo, writes: “Why are recently renovated buildings being torn down? The Poplars / Knott Centre, which recently won an architectural prize, and the Westmount Centre used to house the invaluable Samarès rehabilitation ward.
Pictured: A number of the 22 buildings due to be demolished at Overdale are currently boarded up.
“Demolition guidelines state that buildings in good condition should not be replaced unless they are replaced by improved ones.”
Planning consultants Temple, one of the Government’s partners in the Our Hospital project, has now responded to these comments, and all the themes formally raised by the public through the application process.
Tackling the issue of the more modern buildings, Temple says: “While some of the buildings have been built more recently or refurbished within the last 20 years, these buildings are not conducive to the delivery of modern and future healthcare.
“It is considered that delivery of a new sustainable hospital building which can meet the sustainability needs of the future is more feasible than attempting to retrofit existing buildings, some of which date back to the 1970s.”
Temple adds: “We understand that the Poplars and William Knott buildings which were constructed in 1984 were highly commended in the Jersey Design Awards 2019 for their interior design. The buildings are not Listed and they are not considered by IHE Regulation to be of special architectural interest.
Addressing a comment asking how the impact of demolition compares with updating existing buildings, Temple replies: “There is no scope for adaption and reuse of the existing buildings to deliver the new hospital, thus the comparison of the impact of demolition against the reuse and adaption of existing buildings is irrelevant in this context.”
On the issue of demolition permission being given before the main hospital application is approved, Temple writes: “There are no policies within the Island Plan that would restrict the submission of a demolition application in advance of the main hospital being determined.”
If the demolition planning application is approved, work to clear the site will begin this spring.
The main hospital application will be subject to an independent planning inquiry, which is scheduled to begin in March.
The States are soon due to debate reopening the Samarès stroke and heads injury rehabilitation ward within Westmount Centre, following a proposition lodged by Senator Steve Pallett.
The ward was shut in March 2020, with services moved to the General Hospital.
Comments
Comments on this story express the views of the commentator only, not Bailiwick Publishing. We are unable to guarantee the accuracy of any of those comments.