Senator Lyndon Farnham said there was ‘a large amount of new information’ with the publication of concept designs, including transport options which were released last month.
The Senator was responding to comments made by Advocate Olaf Blakeley ahead of a St Helier Parish Assembly on 9 June when residents will be asked if they are ‘satisfied with the merits of creating an access route to the proposed hospital’, and if they have received adequate design details on the impact of choosing Westmount Road.
Advocate Blakeley argued that ‘nothing meaningful’ had appeared regarding what the proposed road was meant to look like, urging residents to vote to reject the questions.
However, Senator Farnham, who is political lead for the Our Hospital project, said the reason they were publishing concept designs was to share the progress of the project with the public and those impacted in the area, and described it as an ‘essential part’ of the process.
He urged Advocate Blakeley to engage with the Our Hospital project team, ‘especially the technical and engineering side’, which the Senator said would provide the answers Advocate Blakeley was looking for. Senator Farnham said this also went for all Islanders who were interested, or had concerns or support for the project, who could engage with himself and the Our Hospital team.
He said: ‘We want the feedback to shape and refine what we have done to date. That will then deliver the final designs and development plans as part of the planning application.’
A full planning application would be made in early November, the minister said.
Once the application was submitted, Senator Farnham said there would be ‘another opportunity for Islanders to participate’, which he labelled a ‘crucial part of the process’.
‘What we are trying to do with the process is to be as inclusive as possible,’ he said.
Senator Farnham is due to give a presentation at the meeting next week, before parishioners are asked to vote on the issue of the access road. The meeting will be held at 7pm on Wednesday.
