Deputy Mary Le Hegarat made the comments after court records revealed that an agricultural field next to the existing Overdale Hospital was bought for £750,000 earlier this month.
Several other properties including Jersey Water’s headquarters, Mulcaster House, have been sold for £3,333,750, including fees and taxes. Private homes have also been purchased for amounts – including fees and taxes – of up to £2,075,000, £1,820,000 and £1,700,000. Last November, it was revealed that the government was expecting to spend around £16.6 million on buying properties for the project.
In 2020, the States Assembly approved a proposition allowing the Our Hospital project team to purchase land associated with the build by 34 to seven.
Deputy Le Hegarat, who supported the proposition, said: ‘I think it has always been a reservation of the Scrutiny Panel that we are buying things without having planning permission in place. What happens if they do not get permission?
‘The other side of things is we have got to have that property in our hands if we get planning permission but there is a significant amount of money being spent at the moment. I suppose there has to be a balance.’
The St Helier politician added that she thought some of the homes which could be razed to make way for the new hospital were only a few years old.
She said: ‘We probably do have to buy these homes but I have reservations about buying new properties and having people move out when they have to move out if all of a sudden something happens and we do not get planning permission.
‘It might not be a problem if the government resells but it could get messy. Would people want to buy property if there was a worry that they might submit another application? It is a very difficult scenario.’
This week, following the lodging of the planning application for the new hospital, it was announced that Environment Minister John Young had appointed Philip Staddon, a UK-based planning inspector, to conduct an inquiry into the proposals.
Mr Staddon, who is independent of the government, is tasked with producing an impartial report and making a recommendation about whether the application should be approved.
The government has said it will publish a timetable for the inquiry and details on how the public can engage in the process in due course.
Speaking about the inquiry process, Deputy Le Hegarat said: ‘If it was rejected [recommended for rejection by the inspector], then the minister would have to look at the reasons and whether it was something that they could move forward on.
‘The minister would have to look at what the inspector said and determine whether it would be in the public interest to go against his recommendation.’
Senator Lyndon Farnham, who chairs the Our Hospital Political Oversight Group, said: ‘As soon as the States approved Overdale as the location for the new hospital (P123/2020), negotiations began with property and land owners at the site to remove any uncertainty or concerns they may have had. Further to this, the approved Acquisition of New Land for the New Hospital at Overdale (P129/2020) also instructed the project team to commence negotiations with affected property and land owners.
‘Furthermore, in order to deliver a functioning hospital by the end of 2026 before the costs of maintaining the existing health estate increase exponentially, the purchasing of land prior to the planning application submission means that work to build the new hospital can begin as soon as permission is granted.’
