MINISTERS have asked for work on 100 new apartments in Kensington Place to be suspended – potentially reopening the door for a dual-site hospital.
Work to flatten the former Stafford and Revere hotels started earlier this summer after a planning application to replace them with one-, two- and three-bedroom flats was approved in June last year.
The JEP exclusively revealed that ministers have now sought to keep options open for the site – potentially setting up the latest twist in the long-running hospital saga.
The move was confirmed on Thursday, with the announcement of a new government review on whether changes to the Our Hospital project could deliver a cheaper and more appropriate alternative.
Chief Minister, Deputy Kristina Moore, said: ‘This is an important milestone in the Our Hospital Project and the 100 Day Actions. Care will be taken to ensure that the development incorporates provision of delivery space for an appropriate range of health and care service for Jersey, contributes to a ‘whole system’ of healthcare, addresses future care needs, is aligned to evidence-based models of care, and includes opportunities for innovation and digital methods of care delivery.’
Ahead of publication of a review of the Our Hospital development at Overdale, ministers appear to have reopened the possibility of enhancing facilities at the current General Hospital, which would allow the controversial plans for Overdale to be scaled back.
Proposals for the new hospital at Overdale, for which planning approval was granted earlier this year by former Environment Minister John Young, following a public inquiry.
But news that the Kensington Place development has been placed on hold provides the first indication that political thinking may have changed the future-hospital plans.
As part of her 100-day plan, Chief Minister Kristina Moore announced in July that Infrastructure Minister Tom Binet would conduct a review of the existing proposals for Overdale with the aim of ‘securing reassurance’ that the right decision had been made or equally confirming concerns she said many Islanders had expressed on doorsteps in the run-up to the June elections.
Deputy Binet said: ‘The case for new hospital facilities has been established and accepted by the public. The complexity of the approach, requirements, timescale for delivery, cost and financing has meant that the project has seen a number of iterations, none of which have achieved the construction milestone of a modern, affordable, value for money, fit for purpose, and efficient hospital for Jersey.”
Under previous plans for the Hospital, the Kensington Place site was earmarked for an enlarged General Hospital but it was instead made available for housing when the Our Hospital project proposed an entirely new complex which the previous States Assembly decided should be built at Overdale.
