Submission - Anonymous - Preferred Hospital Access Route to Overdale - 5 January 2021

05.01.21

Hi there

I'd like to submit my comments following the call to hear from the general public, dated 4th Jan 2021. I live at the top of Old St John's Road and my property will border part of the new hospital estate.

1. Will you be affected by the proposed access route to Overdale? If so, how?

I'll be affected by the building of the new hospital at Overdale but I won't be directly affected by the road widening. I am concerned about the decision to build at Overdale in general. It just doesn't make sense. Why build a new hospital on the top of a high hill and which doesn't have suitable access?

2. How do you think the access route will affect the homes, leisure facilities and surrounding areas and the overall impact on the landscape?  

Clearly it will have a detrimental effect on the whole area around People's Park, and that hill is of historical significance. It seems that the only reason for the widening of the road is to enable construction vehicles to access the construction site, but this is not needed once the hospital is built. It's insane to spend £38.7 and decimate the area simply to allow construction to take place. These works are permanent and will affect the area for generations to come.

The situation states members now find themselves in is one where they're under enormous pressure to approve of the road widening otherwise they'll be responsible for additional costs being incurred due to any further delays with the project. This is what happened with the Overdale decision, in my view. I think there's also a pressure for the whole hospital debacle to be over and so it's tempting to agree to Overdale and the road widening even where evidence exists that suggests it's not the best choice.

3. Do you feel the plans offer easy access using bus, bicycle or walking and take into account appropriate sustainable methods of transport?  

Absolutely not. Many people don't have a car, especially those who live in town. For them, they are within walking distance to the current hospital but Overdale is too far to walk as it's at the top of a massive hill. How are elderly, infirm or disabled people who don't have transport supposed to easily and quickly access the hospital?

And in any case, walking along a road side is terrible for your health and up a hill you'll have a high respiration rate which makes the effects even worse. People go to hospital because they're unwell so their journey to hospital (which could be daily whilst receiving treatment) needs to not worsen their health.

Whilst there might be a shuttle bus, people may not want to risk being in close proximity to others on such a regular basis. Think about someone receiving cancer treatment - they have a diminished immune system and need to go to the hospital daily as an outpatient so they would need to sit on a bus with other potentially sick people.

Cycling routes are pointless as most people wouldn't be unable to cycle up that hill. I'm pretty fit and healthy and even I have to get off my bike.

4. Do you feel the public were given adequate time to properly consider all the information provided by the States to engage properly in consultation?  

Not with regards the road widening no. In terms of the hospital location generally, I think there could have been more effort for members of the public to provide input on the location. An online poll would have been useful.

5. Do you feel that any views of the public (whether minority or majority views) were adequately addressed by the Government of Jersey?  

Not really.

6. Was your voice heard?  

I haven't submitted comments previously but would have welcomed the opportunity to. A neighbour told me about a meeting with Rok that was open to residents but I wasn't informed by the Government and from what I hear the feedback provided by the public is unlikely to change anything.