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WQ.99/2022
WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE ASSISTANT CHIEF MINISTER
BY SENATOR S.C. FERGUSON
QUESTION SUBMITTED ON MONDAY 14th MARCH 2022 ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON MONDAY 21st MARCH 2022
Question
In relation to the Our Hospital project, will the Assistant Chief Minister explain –
- how it was decided which officers would take part in the short-listing process and what consideration was given to their length of residence in the Island;
- what consideration the Our Hospital Political Oversight Group (the "OH POG") gave to the comments from the Senior Planning Officer regarding the planning application.
- whether 2 fields to the north of Warwick Farm had been offered to the States and what assessment the OH POG made of how soon work could begin on Warwick Farm, when considering the site for the Hospital;
- how the OH POG considered, in light of the Planning Officer's comments, the mass and height of the proposed development at Overdale;
- what consideration was given by the OH POG to the roadworks that would be needed to provide access to the Overdale site, compared with what had been assessed in that regard in relation to Warwick Farm as a possible site; and
- in light of the implementation of the Jersey Care Model, whether it is the OH POG's assessment that Island needs a general hospital rather than an acute hospital?"
Answer
- Officers were chosen for the site selection shortlisting panel on the basis of relevant professional background and experience. Length of residence in Jersey was not a criterion. The panel was supported by technical advisors covering:
• Highways and infrastructure
• Town planning
• Hospital planning, architecture and design
The shortlisting panel was convened to ratify the initial assessments of sites:
• that could accommodate a new hospital in terms of area
• whether factors restricted the delivery timetable for a new hospital
The shortlisting then applied the selection criteria that had been previously developed and agreed by the Citizens' Panel. The process for site selection and the assessments of sites is outlined in detail at:
https://www.gov.je/health/ourhospital/pages/sitesuggestion.aspx#anchor-1
- After pre-application advice was received by the project team, updates were made to the design of the new hospital that reduced the size and height of the development. These design changes were discussed by the OH POG before being presented to all States Members prior to the submission of the planning application.
The design changes are summarised in Section 5.0 of the Proof of Evidence from the project's Planning Lead/Town Planner and within other Proofs of Evidence from the applicant team, which are available on the Public Inquiry webpage:
The latest comments in the Planning Department's Proof of Evidence are being considered ahead of the Public Planning inquiry, which is due to start on 4th April 2022.
- Two fields north of Warwick Farm were offered to the OH project in January 2022.
The Warwick Farm site was considered by the site selection panel and was discounted. As Warwick Farm was not one of the five shortlisted sites, detailed assessment work was not progressed.
Overdale was approved by the States Assembly [P.123/2020] for a number of reasons including the proximity to the built-up area and centre of population, and because the site requires the least compulsory purchase.
A full assessment of sites is outlined in detail at: https://www.gov.je/health/ourhospital/pages/sitesuggestion.aspx#anchor-1
- The design team responded to pre-application advice from planning officers by amending the design as summarised in Section 5.0 of the Proof of Evidence from the project's Planning Lead/Town Planner. In relation to mass and height, Section 3.29 of the Proof of Evidence from the project's Lead Architect is also relevant.
- Warwick Farm was not one of the five shortlisted sites and, as a result, detailed assessment work did not continue as it did for Overdale.
The Warwick Farm site did not meet the Citizens' Panel criteria, specifically:
• there would be a significant likelihood of major highway improvements to cope with the capacity that a hospital would require, both locally and on the wider highway network
• the location would encourage the use of the private car
• the lack of social and community facilities nearby would not support sustainable behaviour
In addition, during the previous Future Hospital project a planning inspector's report stated the following: "This option would involve major challenges to the Island Plan and could only be realistically considered, in Planning terms, if more sustainably located sites were demonstrably not available or workable."
- It is a key objective of Our Hospital to deliver an Acute and General Hospital with co-located mental health facilities for the future delivery of clinical and other services.
Our Hospital is informed by the Jersey Care Model but is not dependent on it. The new hospital is being designed in a flexible way so that the layout of clinical and non-clinical areas can be adapted to meet future care models as healthcare, medical technologies and working practices continue to evolve.