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14.01.21
I am not very good with words but I am going to give this a go.
I am astonished and horrified that these or indeed any proposed plans for a main access via Westmount Road up to the proposed Overdale site could even have reached the stage of being considered.
Not only are these plans "disgustingly" expensive, but in my opinion they are totally impracticable with the end result being a still fairly difficult bend on a 2 way road after the total wanton destruction to everything and anyone in the planners way.
Total disregard is being given to the people who are to lose their homes, or the total destruction of the almost 110 year old Jersey Bowling Club, not to mention the loss of multiple precious mature trees and wildlife who live on them and also on the cliff that will be heartlessly obliterated and destroyed by the digger happy people who have designed this horrendous proposal. This precious wooded area is part of one of the few green lungs that St Helier has.
I also object to locals who live in this area losing their parking spaces at the edge of the park and also the proposed destruction to part of Victoria Park to needlessly widen a road. It is planning overkill gone mad.
It is all very well for the out of town people agreeing to this, but they are not the ones who live in St Helier and this wanton destruction will not majorly affect their lives. I live in town, I walk my dog around the area that will be torn apart and the thought of any of the greenery being destroyed makes my so sad.
To be clear this is Jersey we are talking about. I am not actively against Overdale being the preferred site. 99.99% of people who want to go to the hospital will IN FACT know the easiest route from where they live, so IN FACT there is no need of a "main" route.
I do however think an alternative, simpler, and much more logical, less disruptive and more helpful option to the Peoples park/Cheapside approach would be to :
A - make St Johns Road from Cheapside one way going up,
B - make Undercliffe Road one way going down to the roundabout to reduce traffic before the corner where the new houses have been built.
C - make an "unchanged" Westmount Road one way going down JUST from the hospital site as far as the new Westmount flats.
This would avoid the expensive wanton destruction that is needlessly being suggested.
Further to the above.
I am also appalled that it has been revealed, through the power of facebook, that the proposed size of the original Overdale site is quietly being enlarged without the public being made aware. Apparently there are to be further compulsory purchases of peoples homes and land which is of course going to hugely impact on the size of the site and on the already insane final cost.
Does the scrutiny panel have to power to look at what the heck is being allowed to go on?.
People are losing lives, family and jobs through the pandemic.
Jersey is not a "business", it is our home and the majority of us normal people are appalled at the obscene amount of money that is going to be thrown at the building of the new hospital. Most of us would be happy with a sensible mix of the present hospital, along with some new long term wards/essential buildings, to replace the older parts of the present hospital, being built at Overdale. And those could in fact be built in phases, with money saved being spent on resources such as new equipment which would in fact be money better spent.
The pandemic has also shown us that computers and IT equipment can be plugged in anywhere so there is no need for any new administrative buildings as there are plenty of sites already available which could also save a few millions.
Anyway I digress. please take this as a NO to the access plans.
Sorry to have got carried away, but I feel that we, the voters, have been let down badly by the whole hospital process and I am sceptical about the honesty of whole process to say the least.
Please scrutinise who is going to gain financially with all these massive amounts of taxpayers millions being spent. Are there fingers in pies that need to be looked at?
Who will gain from the present hospital once the most expensive new hospital in the world for less than 120k people has been built? I really would like to know the answer to this.
Yours sincerely Jane