Several concerned Islanders spoke out against the project, arguing that it is on the wrong site and the proposed scheme is wrong for Jersey.
However, the Future Hospital team said that issues surrounding the original planning application had now been addressed.
UK independent planning inspector Philip Staddon is heading the inquiry into the latest plans to build the hospital on the current site with outpatient facilities at Westaway Court.
Mr Staddon held a similar inquiry last November into the first application. Then-Environment Minister Steve Luce rejected the planning application following Mr Staddon’s recommendations.
The £466-million project has been the cause of significant controversy, with a large number of Islanders condemning the Health Department and the Future Hospital team for pressing ahead with plans to rebuild on the existing hospital site.
Richard Glover, head of Major Projects at Planning, said: ‘This application will deliver an excellent new general hospital on the approved site as approved by the States Assembly.
‘The need to replace Jersey’s General Hospital remains a pressing strategic priority.’
Project manager Bernard Place explained to the inquiry that the way health services in the Island are delivered needed to be transformed in order to cope with increasing pressure on facilities due to the ageing population. He added this was not possible in the current hospital building which is ‘deteriorating’.
‘Without this transformation, Jersey will not be able to respond to the increasing demand for services,’ he said. ‘The condition of the current building is, in many cases, cramped and does not meet modern standards.
Mr Glover likened the project to three legs of a stool, with the funding mechanism and site already agreed but the planning permission missing.
However, David Moon, who together with a small group of Islanders pressed the team on their plans, said that the preferred site should be reconsidered. Mr Staddon has the authority to explore the case for alternative sites – something which was not in the terms of reference during the initial inquiry.
Mr Moon said: ‘In my view, the future hospital must be the right size and the right location.
‘I don’t consider either of those are satisfied by the present application.’
He added that while the States had given initial approval for the current site, they had not been consulted on the current application, which should have been put before the Assembly once again.
Another objector, Andie Howell, said the site was too small to deal with the level of demand that is expected on the health service in the coming years. She said that the additional 40 extra beds accounted for in the build was not enough.
Outlining the inquiry, Mr Staddon opened proceedings by telling those attending that he was ‘not there to make everyone agree’, ‘not here to do politics’ and that he is on ‘nobody’s side’. He said his only concern was listening to the evidence and determining whether the application is in keeping with the Island Plan.
The inquiry is being held at St Paul’s Centre.
