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Hospital catering St Peter's Technical Park

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WQ.154/2019

WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR INFRASTRUCTURE BY THE DEPUTY OF ST. PETER

ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 26th MARCH 2019

Question

Will the Minister advise, in respect of the hospital catering project at St. Peter 's Technical Park –

  1. when it is planned that the project will be finished;
  2. whether the project is over-schedule and has over-spent and, if so, what the current and forecasted budgetary over-spend is;
  3. what further measures, if any, he proposes to take to mitigate any impact of excessive noise, light pollution or weekend working arising from the project or to ensure that the views of residents in consideration of such matters is taken into the consideration by the contractors;
  4. what measures, if any, he proposes to take to enhance communications about the project with local residents; and
  5. what measures, if any, he will put in place to ensure that (once the project is completed and catering operations have commenced) the residents can live as quiet and peaceful a life as before the construction started?

Answer

  1. The relocation of catering for the Hospital and other sites comprises the refitting of a facility at St Peter's Technical Park and works to the existing Hospital kitchen area. The construction works at St Peter are scheduled to be completed by mid-May 2019. Following this there will be a testing and migration period before the new Catering Unit is fully operational in June 2019. The works to the main Hospital will commence shortly and are due to complete in the Autumn.
  2. The project is 15 weeks behind the original schedule and is within the allocated budget.
  3. The Minister is not aware of any excessive noise. Works undertaken are within limits set by environmental health legislation, as has been demonstrated through frequent monitoring undertaken by Environmental Health officers. Complaints received about lights being left on by the contractor have been addressed. Weekend working is limited to exceptional activities and is permitted under the planning permit. The method of working is a matter for the contractor to determine, within the constraints of the planning permit and other statutory requirements.
  4. Local residents received an unprecedented level of communication from the Hospital team and the contractor since the commencement of the works. However, face to face meetings ceased in November 2018 when the attitude and actions of certain neighbours became aggressive. Subsequently, threatening comments from certain neighbours to the contractor have been referred to the police. As the project is nearing completion there is no benefit in enhancing communication beyond that required to provide necessary information. It is hoped that rational and positive communications between Health and Community Services operating team and the neighbours can commence when the facility becomes operational.
  5. The building will be used for food preparation within an acoustically baffled environment and is likely to be quieter than most, if not all, other activities on the site. Notwithstanding that the permitted hours of operation for the Technical Park are 6am to 10pm, the catering facility will normally operate on Monday to Friday between the hours of 8am and 5pm. It should be noted that the management of the Technical Park as a whole is undertaken by a management agent and the operators of the facility will abide by all regulations pertaining to the site.