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Jersey Water will be leaving its Westmount headquarters after more than 30 years after selling it for £3.2m to make way for the new Overdale hospital.
Under the latest design plans released by the Our Hospital team, a building for training staff is expected to be built on the site of Westmount-based Mulcaster House, Jersey Water's main building.
Jersey Water's large raised treated water service reservoirs on the site at Westmount are not part of the sale, and will remain in use by Jersey Water.
The company, which is responsible for managing the island's water resources, confirmed to Express this morning that the final agreed price was £3.175m and the contract passed in the Royal Court on Friday 20 August.
Pictured: The Knowledge Centre would be used for non-clinical, education purposes.
Jersey Water will vacate Mulcaster House on Westmount Road in 2022 and its corporate teams will move to offices in New Street, St. Helier.
Its operational teams, meanwhile, will move to restored historic listed buildings at the Millbrook site, if proposals submitted to the Planning Department are approved. Environmental, visual and road safety improvements are also planned.
In a linked application, the company is also proposing the creation of a footpath through Grands Vaux, north of the reservoir.
Pictured: Islanders could be allowed to walk around Grands Vaux reservoir in the future.
The scheme is referenced in the Island Plan.
Chief Executive Helier Smith said Jersey Water had been "working with the Our Hospital Project Team for several months" and was "pleased" to have reached agreement on the sale.
"We look forward to once again having a town presence as we move into our new offices from early 2022," he continued.
"The plans we have developed for Millbrook and Grands Vaux will enhance Jersey Water's ability to serve our community and supply safe high-quality water for decades to come. Through looking at our estate as a whole, we have been able to develop a compelling proposal that not only meets the long-term needs of Jersey Water but also supports the new hospital development and creates significant community and environmental gains for the benefit of all Islanders. The proposals will generate a great place to work for Jersey Water employees but also create another beautiful open space for Islanders to enjoy at Grands Vaux."
Pictured: Jersey Water CEO Helier Smith.
If the new hospital development gets the green light, the new ‘Knowledge Centre’ taking Mulcaster House's place at Westmount will be used for training staff, holding lectures and other non-clinical purposes.
As part of sustainability measures, the two to three-storey building would have a ‘biodiverse’ green roof inaccessible to the public, to aid creatures such as birds and butterflies, as well as general biodiversity in the area.
The Knowledge Centre was previously due to be built on Field 1550 - which is believed to be a 'lost' Neolithic burial site - at the top right of Westmount Road, but that field is now earmarked for the mental health centre.
By June, the Government had spent more than £12m acquiring homes and land for the new hospital, and it is in the process of acquiring more.
While these sales have been achieved through negotiation and not via compulsory purchase, a recently published Government report said the plan to build an £800m new hospital at Overdale “cannot continue to progress” without some forced land sales.
Negotiations to sell Jersey Water HQ for new hospital
FOCUS: A first look at the new hospital plans...
Plans for public access around Grands Vaux reservoir
"Our Hospital project cannot continue to progress without compulsory purchase"
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