Submission - Frank Dearie - Preferred Hospital Access Route to Overdale - 13 January 2021

13.01.21

Dear all

I write in response to the call for comments on the questions detailed below.

Before addressing these, may I earnestly appeal directly to all elected officials and relevant Civil Servants. Please pause and

re-examine past decisions on this project and ,specifically against the backdrop of the ongoing Covid pandemic , please seriously question the ongoing wisdom of spending any more than is absolutely necessary (possibly an extra circa £300 million ?) to create a new access road to the Overdale site.

In my opinion , the existing access road is adequate for all traffic and with some modest adjustment could be made workable for increased "blue light" traffic usage. For example, either a special "blue light traffic approaching" lighting system on key spots on the existing road/hill and/or the type of priority

flow junctions used in Green St.Such measures would avoid destruction of the whole area and could save hundreds of millions of pounds.Better access could also be aided by a fleet of small buses (possibly electric) servicing Overdale from town.

The economy of the Island will be weakened and burdened by the already huge (and presently unquantifiable) financial burden that the Covid pandemic has imposed on the Island.Who knows what the final costs of Covid will be?. Clearly though taxpayers will all be paying the financial costs of Covid for a very long time to come.

It seems to me that any States Project expenditure that is

currently discretionary in nature is probably a luxury that the Island can no

longer afford.Going forward we must cut our cloth; be prudent and fiscally responsible ; and find the most cost effective ways in which to handle any and all ongoing significant

items of expenditure.

In regards to Overdale , we simply cannot afford to to re-

engineer Westmount Road to access the Overdale site. Please think again.Please also challenge the "GET OVERDALE DONE" attitude promoted in some quarters.

Reply to questions

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

YES.

I live on on Westmount Road so will be directly impacted every day for probably several years by the proposed destruction of my neighbourhood, including extensive noise; nuisance; periodic lack of access to my property; and consequential damage to the cliff faces that border sections of Westmount Road.

More importantly, and in common with all Jersey taxpayers, we will all be very seriously impacted by the financial consequences of decisions taken at this stage. Please see comments in the introduction above.

2. How do you think the access route will affect the homes, leisure facilities and surrounding areas and the overall impact on the landscape? There is nothing positive that I can say about the prospect Westmount Road (and Peoples Park) as we currently know it being destroyed.
3. Doyou feel the plans offer easy access using bus, bicycle or walking and take into account appropriate sustainable methods of transport? NO !. I think you are addressing the wrong questions here.It is now and always will be a real physical challenge to approach Overdale on foot or by bike. It is, and always will be , one of the steepest hills on the Island.Ideas discussed involving finicular railways and cable cars are entirely fanciful.
4. Doyou feel the public were given adequate time to properly consider all the information provided by the States to engage properly in consultation? NO and I think the process has been deliberately curtailed and proper debate deliberately stifled.
5. Doyou feel that any views of the public (whether minority or majority views) were adequately addressed by the Government of Jersey? NO

6. Was your voice heard?Yes - but only by several members of Scrutiny, to whom I am very grateful for their willingness to be engaged issues.

Many thanks Frank Dearie