14 January 2019
Jersey’s Ministers for Health and Infrastructure say they remain committed to delivering a new hospital for Jersey and welcome the independent inspector’s conclusion that the case for the new hospital is compelling.
The Minister for the Environment today refused a planning application for the hospital. After reviewing a report and recommendations by an independent planning inspector, the Minister turned it down on the grounds that it doesn’t comply with island planning policy in three main areas of areas of heritage, residential amenity, and design, townscape and visual impact.
The Minister for Infrastructure, and political lead for the project, Deputy Kevin Lewis, said the inspector had recognised the planning issues were among the most complex and difficult the island has faced. “This is a lengthy and important report that will need further consideration and discussion with colleagues, but the inspector observes that no site for a complex and large scale hospital in Jersey is perfect and this is something we need to take account of as we move forward in the coming weeks.”
The Minister for Health and Community Services, Deputy Richard Renouf said he needed to consider the inspector’s report and recommendations. “What we all agree on is the need for a hospital. As the inspector observes, further delay ‘will clearly have profound and negative consequences which will increase in scale and severity with time.'
“My main focus in the coming weeks will be to ensure that we can continue to deliver a quality health service for patients and staff. Health is a priority for this government and we need to ensure we don’t lose sight of the bigger picture – that the safety of patients is paramount, and that the need to build a new hospital safely, efficiently and quickly, remains urgent.”
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