Residents and businesses from streets surrounding the hospital site raised their concerns at a public inquiry held last month into Health’s £466 million plans claiming that proposals to re-route traffic during the works could result in someone being killed or seriously injured, in particular in Lewis Street and around Parade Gardens.
On Monday, Health published the results of a Health Impact Assessment by Ove Arup & Partners.
While the report acknowledges that there will be delays for drivers, it states that the introduction of temporary speed limits and other road safety measures will reduce risks for pedestrians.
The 120-page report which has been published on the States website, sets out a series of recommendations to reduce nuisances.
These include controlling construction traffic and deliveries and introducing separate access routes for construction vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists and private and hospital transport vehicles, with an emphasis on accessibility for the elderly, wheelchair users and parents with children in pushchairs.
In addition, the report’s authors say, all access routes into the hospital should be monitored throughout the project, and businesses and residents will be consulted before works begin and throughout the project. These recommendations are being incorporated into the Future Hospital project.
‘This Health Impact Assessment will reassure the public and provide a valuable reference work for the project team as we refine the plans for design and construction of our new hospital,’ project director Bernard Place said.
‘It is important that we are aware of any potential health impacts of our plans at this early stage, so we can work to mitigate any difficulties.
‘We have considerable expertise on the project team, including experience in major hospital projects in densely-populated urban settings, and our future designs will reflect the importance we attach to making the overall impact of this project a positive one.’
Concerns about poor air qualify during demolition works were also raised at the public enquiry but Ove Arup and Partners concluded this issue has been properly addressed.
‘No construction impacts of air quality on health are expected taking the planned mitigation into account,’ the report states. ‘This includes the development and implementation of a dust management plan which will include measures to control emissions.’
Ove Arup @ Partners also recommend that Health adopts a communication strategy throughout the project to include a regular newsletter, leaflet drop, website post and a telephone hotline for reporting incidents.
