Closed petition Stop work and spending at Overdale hospital until Planning consent received
It seems that the States have been able to carry out contentious investigative work, purchase private properties at considerable expense and sign significant contracts before they are required to submit plans for public sight or obtain Planning Department consent to build.
This is unacceptable.
More details
Preliminary work has been undertaken, considerable amounts of public money have been spent on staffing, investigative works, purchase of private properties, etc, despite the fact that there is considerable public opposition to the development by groups such as Friends of our Hospital and Guardians of Westmount.
Senator Farnham has been notified by the residents group that they are wholly opposed to the proposed changes to Westmount road.
This petition is closed All petitions run for 6 months
1,097 signatures
5,000
Ministers responded
This response was given on 1 September 2021
Detailed documentation is required so that a planning application can be submitted. Stopping work on the project would mean the necessary information could not be collected or provided to Planning.
Read the response in full
The Overdale site provides an opportunity to deliver a modern, fit-for-purpose hospital to support positive health outcomes for generations of Islanders. The States Assembly approved Overdale as the preferred site for Jersey’s new hospital in November 2020. The next phase of work following this decision is to prepare a planning application.
In order to do this, the Our Hospital project team has had to gather detailed information about the land, which is necessary to develop the designs required as part of a planning application. The Planning decision is dependent on the submission of detailed documentation that includes evidence and analysis. It is not possible to submit a planning application without detailed supporting information in a range of areas including environmental impact, topography and geology.
The Planning process is a statutory process where detailed designs are assessed against Island policies. Designs are appraised for their suitability, predominantly to safeguard against environmental and community harm. Further detail on the planning legislation and process can be found here: https://www.gov.je/PlanningBuilding/Pages/default.aspx
The target date for delivering a new hospital for the island is 2026. This is when costs to maintain Jersey’s deteriorating General Hospital and health estate are predicted to rise sharply. This is an ambitious timeline for a construction project of this size and complexity and, in order to meet the deadlines, work is require by the Design and Delivery Partner to prepare the design and planning application.
As is standard practice, the Our Hospital project team has also acquired properties to assemble the land required for a hospital at Overdale. This will enable construction to begin without delay if Planning consent is granted.
The project team welcomes feedback from Islanders and consults with a wide range of stakeholders, including but not limited to, residents’ groups at Overdale, community and patient groups, clinicians and health professionals, blue light services and statutory consultees to the planning process such as, Infrastructure, Housing, Environment Regulation, Operations and Transport, and the Parish of St Helier. This covers all aspects of the design, including the access road.
Senator Lyndon Farnham
Deputy Chief Minister and Chair of Our Hospital Political Oversight Group