And one such complaint about noise and vibrations from work to dig up a concrete floor was found to be a possible breach of the nuisance law and forced work to be temporarily suspended while preventative measures were put in place.
A total of 97 complaints have been made relating to the work at St Peter’s Technical Park – which started in May 2018 and is 15 weeks behind schedule – by what the States described as a ‘small number of residents’.
And as a result, officers have made 25 site visits to assess complaints, monitor compliance, carry out assessments, meet contractors and visit homes to speak to residents.
There have also been numerous meetings with other officials to discuss the situation.
Last month Infrastructure Minister Kevin Lewis told the States, in answer to a written States question, that some of those meetings with residents had turned ‘aggressive’ and threatening comments by neighbours had been referred to the States police. The meetings therefore stopped in November, he added.
Asked by St Peter Deputy Rowland Huelin about measures being taken during the construction work and after to avoid subjecting neighbours to excessive noise, the minister said he was not aware of any such issues. He added that complaints about lights being left on by the contractor had been addressed.
However, a statement from the States says that noise has been one of the biggest causes of complaints.
‘Environmental Health has received 97 complaints from a small number of residents in the form of emails, phone calls and other approaches to the department,’ a spokesman said. ‘Most of these complaints were passed to the contractor. Concerns raised were mostly about noise, working times and lights being left on.
‘Where concerns were about environmental health issues, officers made 25 site visits to assess complaints, monitor compliance, carry out assessments, meet contractors and visit homes to hear residents’ complaints and discuss the situation.
‘In addition to meetings with officers from Environmental Health, there have been numerous meetings with other government officers, their project managers and the contractor to seek to resolve any issues.’
Speaking to the JEP, Deputy Huelin said he was ‘disappointed’ by the minister’s response in the States and he was now actively working on having that statement updated in time for the next sitting of the Assembly on 30 April.
Meanwhile, the States spokesman said that two complaints had led to further investigations, including one which is ongoing.
‘In June 2018 a complaint about noise and vibration from work to dig up a concrete floor was found to be a possible breach of the Statutory Nuisance (Jersey) Law,’ the spokesman said. ‘Contractors stopped the works and put solutions in place (such as sound insulation) to ensure the problem was resolved and Environmental Health continued to monitor noise levels to provide assurance to residents.
‘One other complaint concerning contractors leaving lights on is currently being investigated.’
The new unit, which is due to be up and running in June, will replace the ageing kitchen facility at the General Hospital, which is described as small and difficult to keep clean.
Once in operation, the St Peter facility will provide 1,500 to 2,000 meals per day, 60% of which will go to the Hospital and the remainder to satellite units across the Health Department, where they will be reheated. The unit has also been designed to have the capacity to expand production in the future to meet the needs of the ageing population.
