A ST PETER-based hospital catering unit which has for years caused anguish for Islanders living next door due to odours and noise will not be moving to the new hospital at Overdale when it is built, the JEP has learned.
While it had previously been suggested that the unit could move to the facility, Health Minister Deputy Tom Binet has now confirmed that the Central Production Kitchen “will support the new hospital as it currently does” for the General Hospital and all other Health and Care Jersey estates.
The news will come as a great dismay to those living near St Peter’s Technical Park, who have long called for the government to address persistent odours allegedly caused by the catering unit, which employs 40 staff and operates five days a week, bank holidays, and occasional weekends.
It emerged in 2017 that the hospital’s cooking facilities were being moved to the area, with nearby residents demanding action from then-Environment Minister John Young to tackle the ‘foul odours’ being produced.
The unit then started operating in 2020, despite a proposition from former Senator Sarah Ferguson calling for the move to be blocked.
Filters were installed at the facility, but did little to alleviate the smells, according to those living in the area. Environmental Health has never formally recognised the odours as a ‘nuisance’, limiting further options for recourse.
Sally and Paul Wood, long-term residents of Ville du Bocage whose home is located just metres from the unit, have been at the helm of a nearly eight-year campaign to see the facility moved and have shared their frustrations with numerous politicians and government officials – to no avail.
They say the saga, which has also involved protesting noise coming from other areas of the industrial park, has been detrimental to their own and neighbours’ wellbeing. In the Woods’ case, the mental and physical health issues allegedly stemming from their stress have been serious.
A mediation process is currently underway, but the couple say they have limited faith that a solution will be found and fear that their only option might be costly legal action.
“Will it take something worse to happen to one of us for something to get done?” Mr Wood said. “It’s like they don’t care about our lives.”
- Read an exclusive interview with the Woods on pages 8 and 9 in today’s JEP.
