Jersey’s Health and Social Services Minister has welcomed the opening of a public inquiry examining plans for a new hospital.
A public inquiry will examine the outline planning application (PP/2018/0507) to build a new safe, sustainable and affordable hospital for Jersey on the existing General Hospital, Westaway Court site, and additional sites in Kensington Place. The independent planning inspector will also carry out a high-level, planning-based assessment of other sites.
The application was submitted to planning officers in April 2018 and revised in July. It followed States Assembly approval for the location, the budget and the method of funding.
The inquiry starts on Monday 17 September 2018 at St Paul’s Centre. It is expected to last for up to a week.
Deputy Richard Renouf said the Future Hospital project team had been preparing for the public inquiry for some time and welcomed the inquiry as an independent, structured, evidence-based opportunity to look at the planning issues for the site in depth to ensure the proposals are consistent with policy.
Deputy Renouf said: "We think this is a good scheme that will meet planning requirements for the site which has been agreed by the States Assembly.
"The public inquiry, led by an independent inspector, is a tried and trusted process, and I very much hope it will help us establish a considered, sensible and clear way forward for our much-needed new hospital."
The inspector’s report and recommendations will be sent to the Minister for the Environment, Deputy John Young, who will make a final decision on the plans and publish his decision and the inspector’s report. This is expected to be the middle to end of October.
If the hospital is given the go ahead, some areas will be operational in four years and the full hospital clinical facility will be completed in six years.