CLAIMS that it is unnecessary to demolish several of the existing buildings on the Overdale site have been rejected by a senior figure involved with the project to build the Island’s new hospital.
Professor Ashok Handa, medical director, was speaking at the public inquiry into the planning application for the facility.
The need to knock down several buildings on the Overdale site was questioned by members of the public on the third day of the hearing.
Lady Valerie Broomfield said she was particularly concerned about the proposed loss of the Poplars Day Care Centre and the William Knott Child Development and Therapy Centre.
She said: ‘There’s been lots of talk about putting children first – does demolishing the William Knott Centre show the people of Jersey that the States mean what they say?’
Two other buildings, the Westmount Centre and the Eva Wilson building, were highlighted by another member of the public, Andy Howell, who said that Islanders needed certainty about where existing facilities would be relocated.
Mrs Howell said: ‘They are trying to put too much in one place – you can’t just knock things down on a wing and a prayer.’
Professor Handa said one-third of the existing buildings at Overdale were unused and in a state of disrepair, with a further third being in a poor state of repair which made working conditions difficult.
He added: ‘The remaining one-third are fit for now, but would not be suitable for the future.
‘There is a very comprehensive plan for services, and what we will get is something immeasurably better and fit for the next half-century.’
Dr Calum McClymont, a consultant in anaesthesia and pain medicine, said that he worked in the Eva Wilson centre but that working conditions were poor. ‘It is an old and haggard building that needs to be demolished,’ he said.
The inquiry also considered the question of whether trees would be lost as a result of the project.
Neil Mattinson, director of LDA Design, the landscape architects for the project, confirmed that there would be a net gain of 705 trees, with 860 trees being planted and 155 cut down.
He said that some of the new trees could be up to 12 metres in height, this being the maximum size that could be transported as boat freight.
‘The number and quality of the new trees are a very good deal – you are getting back much more than you are losing,’ he said.
Environmental campaigner John Baker said that he did not believe the Overdale site was suitable for the size of hospital being proposed and said the loss of any trees was regrettable.
Later in the day it was confirmed that a planning application had been registered covering a new home for the Jersey Bowls Club at Warwick Farm, with the bowling green being ready in time for the start of the summer season in April 2023.
The inquiry, which began on Monday, is scheduled to last a total of five days, with independent inspector Philip Staddon set to deliver his report and recommendation to Environment Minister John Young, who will make the final decision regarding the application.
