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14th January 2021
Dear Scrutiny Panel,
Re. Review of Preferred Access Route to Overdale
I have been following with interest the proposed plans for the new hospital on the existing site at Overdale Hospital. Jersey certainly desperately needs a new hospital and in principle I do not object to Overdale being the chosen site. The proposed demolition and destruction however of Westmount Road and the surrounding area seems something that requires further consultation and very close scrutiny.
My property backs onto the back of the existing Overdale Hospital from a Cul de Sac at the top end of Tower Rd, so I am very familiar with this area. Having looked at the plans it seems that the building of the hospital on this site is not the problem, but the access and logistics of moving large plant machinery and the building materials required to build the hospital is extremely problematic.
All access routes to Overdale are steep and narrow. Tower Road most working days is like a rat race in the mornings, Cars often mounting the pavements at the narrowest point to pass each other by the Cemetery. In bad weather Tower Road is a death trap, very steep and probably about 1 in 3 on the steepest bend.
Westmount Road is also steep and narrow in parts. The number 19 bus was re- routed several years ago via Queens Rd as it was too large to navigate the Westmount Road on the steep corner. Queens Road and New and Old St Johns Roads are also busy and steep. The bends in both New and Old St Johns Roads are sharpe and require extreme caution. Not a good picture when looking at easy access to what will be a very busy hospital. Non of these routes make it an easily accessible site.
The proposed alterations required to make Westmount Road as the main access route don't appear to have been properly thought through. It is mainly built on Granite, in fact the site of an old quarry. The plans to make it passable as an access route appear to require enormous levels of road widening and destruction of park land and open spaces, historic sites, destruction of several properties and removal of agricultural land. There appears to have been little thought given to the impact of closing Westmount Road for several months possibly longer in order to carry out this work, not to mention the misery and impact for residents and businesses in the immediate area. There will be knock on effects for people travelling into Town from the North, West and South areas of the Island. More traffic will be diverted to the already busy Tower Road and Queens Road areas.
Not withstanding if someone wishes to attend a Cremation at Westmount Crematorium, the area will be engulfed by building works and probably impassable for along time. The Vast sums of money that would need to be spent reorganising Westmount Road, the compulsory purchase of several properties, the lose of of the Bowling Club and removal of all the parking spaces along the perimeter of People's Park, the destruction, inconvenience and years of noise from plant traffic and building works is an unacceptable cost both financially, environmentally and in terms of the considerable impact it will have on all the residents living in the immediate surrounding area.
To date it seems there has been little consultation with those people who have been most directly affected by the plans to build at the Overdale Site and the proposed access route of Westmount. It has taken many years of discussion by the States to arrive at an agreement of the new site. Surely this decision to virtually destroy most of what currently exists of Westmount Road as we know it needs proper consultation and the residents need to be heard in relation to the concerns they have. Please give this proper scrutiny rather than the bulldozer of a project that it currently seems to be. People are very concerned and don't feel they are being consulted or listened to. The proposed 38.7 billion I imagine will come largely from Tax payers money so it needs to be properly thought through.
Many Thanks Yours Sincerely Christine Dukes