ADMITTED to hospital with chest pains in April after suffering two major heart attacks weeks prior, Sally Wood has understandably been cautious about her health since then.
But during her overnight stay, when she needed to rest and recuperate, she kindly declined the offer of a hot meal at the General Hospital, opting for a bowl of ice cream instead.
Little did the nurses know, the fumes from the food they offered Sally, the same ones that filled the ward corridors she walked through on her way out, were a large part of the reason she and her husband Paul believe she was in such ill health in the first place.
A few days before she was emergency airlifted to Southampton in March, Sally was told a meeting with government officials to do something about the devastating impact that operations at St Peter’s Technical Park have had on their home life had been cancelled. Again.
Sally is adamant that is not a coincidence.
“I just saw red,” she said on hearing the news.
They think her rapid health decline was the climax of an issue that has permeated every part of their lives for over seven years.
Living just yards away from the park, the Woods’ lives in Ville du Bocage were unproblematic and peaceful for nearly three decades until 2017 when it emerged that the hospital’s catering facility was being moved to a unit just fifty yards from their back gate.
Since then, the couple claim they’ve been caught in a nightmarish merry-go-round of silence, deflection, and inadequate treatment by various government departments – specifically Planning – who say they have ignored their own rules and allowed businesses to operate in breach of policy specific to the technical park.
Sally and Paul say their ongoing efforts to get help have left them mentally, emotionally, and physically depleted, resulting in catastrophic health issues for them both – on top of Sally’s heart attacks, including a clinical depression diagnosis and stress-induced hiatal hernias.
There was even an attempt at suicide.
Fast-forward to 2025, the JEP got back in touch with the couple, who have spoken publicly about their experiences on numerous occasions over the years – most recently in 2022.
But, three years on, there remains no end in sight for the Woods and other nearby residents fighting for someone to act on the concerns about levels of noise, smell, and fumes created by some of the eight units working metres from their bedroom windows.
“One of the biggest stresses [with the government] is communication, or the lack of it in this Island. Nobody communicates,” Sally said.
“Even since having the heart attacks, I haven’t had any communication.”
“Will it take something worse to happen to one of us for something to get done?” Paul added.
“It’s like they don’t care about our lives.”
When they bought their home, a picture-perfect property where they would eventually raise their son, the Woods were fully aware of its proximity to the technical park.
The large green sheds were meant to be invisible.
At the time they said they were reassured by the estate agent about the strict conditions under which the park was allowed to run so close to a residential area, which was implemented by Planning in 1984 when the site was approved.
That agreement said that industrial usage should not “cause detriment to the amenities of the area by virtue of noise, vibration, smell, fumes, smoke, soot, ash, dust or grit or effluent”.
But, sitting at their dining table last week, in a seat in which countless politicians have sat in before and made empty promises for action, I could hear the constant bleeps from the forklifts at Pentagon West’s unit – which is supposedly meant to keep noise to a strict minimum and restricted from industrial activity.
I could also see the utter lack of hope or trust Sally and Paul have left for the officials supposed to protect their interests.
Over the years, there have been several unsuccessful attempts to mitigate the issues – one of which was the installation of carbon filters to reduce the smells from the catering facility. In 2021, residents were also asked to fill in ‘nuisance diaries’ to document odours from the unit.
But still, the Woods say their lives – and wellbeing – remains largely dictated by the schedule of activity at the park.
After being woken up sharply each morning by bleeping machinery, Sally said she has a tight window to put the washing out because their clothes will absorb the foul cabbage-like smell produced by the catering facilities every day.
Moreover, the pair have not used their lovely garden properly for the best part of a decade, even on bank holidays. To even get to it, you must walk through a commercial-grade fly screen which they’ve had to install because of the flies from the catering unit bins.
“They just tell us to close our windows,” Paul said with an incredulous laugh.
Since publicly and loudly voicing their frustrations, the couple have resorted to installing CCTV around their property. Indeed, there have been clashes with those working nearby. On one occasion, Paul was threatened with arrest.
The couple have also had eggs thrown at their cars – an act of vandalism they believe was done by individuals who have taken issue with their complaints.
This, they they have continuously argued, is all because policies put in place for their protection over forty years ago – which are in the Island Plan and still stand today – are not being abided by.
Environmental Health has conducted many scientific tests over the years. All however, have come back in favour of the park, as none qualify as a ‘statutory nuisance’ – in other words, the odours are not deemed serious enough to cause physical harm.
The compound stress of their calls falling on deaf ears has caused a world of pain for Sally and Paul, but they fear all avenues have been exhausted.
The only option remaining would be to take the matter to court – indeed, with their stack of evidence, meeting notes, photographs, and neighbour testimonies they’ve drawn up, the Woods look prepared for a judge already – but they know the expense would put their home and livelihoods on the line.
The cancelled meeting that resulted in Sally’s emergency helicopter journey has yet to be rescheduled.
A mediation process is also currently underway with the couple and the park businesses; however, Sally said they had no idea it was being arranged in the first place, and now the process has started, no more complaints can be made and there’s no guarantee anything will change.
Another option would be to sell their home, but, as Sally said: “Why should we?”
“If I’m going to sell up, can you imagine the extra stress selling would cause me [after the heart attacks], let alone the fact it’s my home?” she said.
Paul added that neighbours a few doors down from them did opt to move, but lost £70,000 on the house price – something they believe may have been due to the proximity to the catering unit.
“[Planning] are supposed to be there to protect. In our case, they haven’t protected us in any shape or form,” Sally said.
“They’ve allowed everything to get so out of hand, and they know it’s wrong, completely wrong,” she added.
For now, the Woods remain as they did nearly eight years ago on the issue, but with a lot less faith in Jersey’s government and their rights as residents of this Island democracy.
Following the interview, the Health Department confirmed to the JEP that there are no plans for the existing catering unit to move when the new hospital at Overdale is complete.
Successive Ministers and government officials have always maintained that they have acted in good faith towards the Woods, and sought to put mitigating measures in place in response to their concerns.
The Planning Department has been contacted for a response to the Woods’ most recent concerns.
