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Dear Scrutiny
For ease of reference I list my objections to this project:
- Both the proposed budget and the subsequent huge costs of borrowing are totally unacceptable for a small island of only 110,000 people. Including the interest it has been determined that the total cost could be 1.4 billion pounds. It has already been determined that any wiggle' room with the costs in this project has already gone due to Covid and Brexit so in fact the costs could be even more than this.
- Research has shown that there is no other hospital project anywhere in the world costing anything close to this. Figures here will mean this hospital will cost up to six times per square metre more than anywhere else in the world. Why? Unacceptable.
- Why was an offer by a French Company to build our Hospital for a very reasonable price ignored?
- Why has there been no tender process as is the absolute norm for any building project as this would quite obviously offer options as to the costs and would have resulted in a much lower budget.
- Why is taxpayers' money in the sum of £900,000.00 being paid every month to ROC for every one month delay' in a project that has many details - including the budget - still to be determined? Who agreed to this?
- Who agreed to pay the Project Team the vast sum of 1.2 million pounds every month the project is delayed, another extortionate sum and apparently all to come out of the hugely inflated budget?
- The fact that this new hospital is going to be built on an inaccessible and very expensive hill means this project is far more expensive than it needs to be when other and better sites are still available. Additionally the huge budget does not include for several more - already planned - expensive and unnecessary roadworks throughout the area. Only the massive alterations to Westmount Road are included within the proposed budget.
- The budget apparently includes for the hugely expensive compulsory purchase of several homes and the Bowls Club which are all to be demolished. Totally unacceptable, not just hugely expensive but devastating for those people affected.
- Whilst it is obvious some of the current buildings at Overdale are no longer functional, most of the larger buildings are not very old and so yet more expensive demolition and the unnecessary and expensive loss of buildings that are perfectly serviceable. As it is not going to be a one site' Hospital why not use current buildings at Overdale and continue to improve the existing Hospital where many millions are being spent already on Maternity....just to pull it down a year after these are finished? Nonsense!
- Spending on this vast scale in this small island will inevitably mean that so many other important projects are cut back or scrapped for the next 40 years at least.
- A world class Hospital supposedly will attract world class staff' but salaries will also need to be world class' so that staff can afford to live here and buy property here and how will Jersey be able to afford that then, when we cannot do that now, plus we will have to pay back this massive sum to build this Hospital?
- Virtually everything on the specific list of Criteria all of which were supposed to apply to the new Hospital site have not just been ignored but for several of these the opposite has been achieved and all of this has and is costing yet more money.
- How and where will funerals take place during this lengthy period of demolition and construction? Interment cannot be done anywhere else so will the building work stop when these take place? Obviously more expense to relocate etc. Again, there is no allowance in the already huge budget to do this work, so another extra expense.
- Reports compiled at great expense over many years by experts have been completely ignored. Local experts who have great experience in building, in government and in finance are all being ignored. The business plan does not allow for the many economic risks of post Covid and post Brexit years.
- When the budget proposed is discussed it should be of concern that works are still being carried out continually, now, despite no budget agreement and the complete unsuitability of the site. Is this so that the response to objections can be that it is too late to stop now'?? The suitability of the site should be discussed again with awareness of all the expensive problems that were originally ignored.
To sum up, what is going on in our small island? How can any of the above be good for Jersey? To continue acceptance of this project is throwing enormous sums of good money after bad.
It is NOT too late for this ludicrous vanity project to be stopped.
Thankyou for including the above.