11 September 2024
A Planning Application for the Acute Hospital at Overdale has been submitted to the Government
of Jersey Planning Portal. At the same time, supporting information for the Budget 2025-2028 has
been developed, demonstrating that Phase 1 of the Programme is affordable, fit-for-purpose and
achievable.
Acute Hospital Planning Application
All documents will be available on the Planning Portal once the Application has been validated by
Planning and Regulation. Islanders will be able to express their views on the proposals on the
planning portal, including whether that the proposals should be approved, as well as providing
comments on the impacts of the scheme.
The submission of the Planning Application follows a period of public consultation in May 2024,
when the concept designs for the Acute Hospital were shared with the public. Feedback from
Islanders showed strong support for much of the scheme, with an overarching sentiment from
respondents to “get on with” delivery of the hospital. The site masterplan has evolved to respond
to stakeholder engagement, which has resulted in changes to create a more robust design solution.
Public drop-in event
There will be an opportunity for the public to see the designs and find out more information about
the Acute Hospital on Monday 16 September from 2pm to 7:30pm in the Assembly Room at St
Helier Town Hall.
Supporting Information: Budget 2025 – 2028
An Outline Business Case (OBC) has been developed to support the expenditure of £710 million on
the New Healthcare Facilities in the Budget 2025 – 2028. The funding request is to deliver the
Overdale Acute Hospital as well as start works at the other two major sites: Kensington Place
Ambulatory Facility and St Saviour Health Village. This information has been summarised in a
Supporting Information document.
In line with the HM Treasury Green Book ‘5 case’ model, the OBC examines the strategic, economic,
financial, commercial, and management aspects of the Programme. It concludes that the
recommended option is the right way forward.
Two options are evaluated:
- construction of the Acute Hospital at Overdale, and progressing with projects at Kensington
Place and St Saviour's Health Village
- refurbishing existing facilities and include two new build construction phases on the
existing General Hospital site
The Supporting Information shows:
- the refurbishment option would cost more without any of the key benefits of the planned
way forward and would disrupt staff, patients and visitors during the construction phase
- completing the construction of the Acute Hospital at Overdale, Phase 1 of the Ambulatory
Site at Kensington Place, and Phase 1 of the Health Village is planned to complete by 2028
whilst the refurbishment option would take until 2038 to conclude
- building the Acute Hospital at Overdale will cause minimal disruption to existing acute
healthcare delivery, as the Jersey General Hospital will remain operational
- the financial modelling suggests that there will be increases in clinical and running costs but
these are largely caused by the growth in the size of the new facilities which are needed to
support the Island moving forward. These would manifest in either option.
The Minister for Health and Social Services, Deputy Tom Binet, said: “We made a commitment
to Islanders in the Common Strategic Policy that we will start building the Acute Hospital at
Overdale during this term of office, and the submission of the Planning Application brings us a
significant step closer to achieving this commitment and delivering the new healthcare facilities our
Island so urgently needs.
“Not surprisingly, the overwhelming message from the public consultation was simply to ‘get on
with’ building the Acute Hospital without further delay, and that is my intent.
“The next steps for the Planning Application will see Deputy Steve Luce, in his independent capacity
as Minister for Environment, review the information and determine the Planning Application
process. At this stage, we hope to see a determination to the Application early next year, and we
remain on track to complete the construction of the Acute facility by the end of 2028.
“At the same time as the planning submission, I’m pleased to be publishing Supporting Information
for Phase 1 of the Programme, ahead of the Budget debate later in the year, which demonstrates
that the Programme is fit-for-purpose, affordable and achievable.”
Key features of the Acute Hospital and site master plan
Hospital design, size and function
The Acute Hospital at Overdale has been developed to provide the best hospital possible while
optimising the use of the site. The layout has been designed to meet requirements for patient-focused spaces and optimal conditions to benefit patient care and recovery. It has been developed
following extensive consultation with eventual users of the facility, including over 70 clinical user
groups since the beginning of 2024.
- The main building will consist of a lower-ground, ground, first, second, and third floors with
associated plant on the fourth floor. The Emergency Department will be located on the
ground floor with direct access for ambulances from Westmount Road
- There will be more than 60 additional acute overnight beds within the Overdale Acute
Hospital compared to the current Jersey General Hospital (this varies slightly depending on
the number of beds open at JGH)
- The hospital design has been developed around a campus concept with the creation of a
focal ‘heart’ from which all hospital services radiate. This concept is more efficient for the
acute site and aims to deliver the best functional hospital arrangement whilst responding to
local context, and environmental factors
- The larger mass of the building has been ‘stepped’ and pulled away from existing
residential properties, as far as is possible, reducing the overall bulk
- The highest clinical floors are two storeys below the permitted scheme (Our Hospital), with
a small area of plant at one storey below
- Retention of houses east of Westmount Road
- Retention of bowling club
- Arrangement of inpatient bedrooms on the upper storeys to maximise views across the
town and coast
- Discrete and screened Facilities Management/ Support Services access and yard
- Reuse of the existing Jersey Water Building as a Facilities Management hub
Access and Transport
- Active travel route will use and adapt existing pathways through West Park and Westmount
Gardens
- Some local highway upgrade works will be necessary to reduce vehicle conflicts and
improve pedestrian safety by increasing footway and carriageway widths
- The plans do not significantly re-align and widen Westmount Road or St Aubin’s Road and
minimally impact the parking adjacent to People’s Park
- Following consultation with key stakeholders, a hazard warning signal at the ‘hairpin’ of
Westmount Road is being proposed. This would forewarn and stop any approaching traffic
to give way for blue-light emergency vehicles. This proposal enables the retention of the
existing two-way movement and minimises the works required.
- Ambulance access to the Emergency Department immediately off Westmount Road
- Two signal junctions at the St Aubin’s Road and Peirson Road, and at the Westmount Road
and Peirson Road junctions to facilitate pedestrian movements and emergency access to
Overdale
- Pedestrian entrances planned to enable clear and accessible routes from all arrival and
transport modes
- The main car parking will be located to the east of the site and will be accessed via
Westmount Road. Further parking is located to the south and southeast of the main
building. The at-grade parking will provide approximately 343 spaces across the site,
including allocation for accessible and electric vehicle parking spaces
- Bus stop provided at northern entrance to facilitate public transport
- Landscaped car parking which will include designated bays for patients, staff and visitors
- Accessible car parking provided close to southern entrance, including public and taxi drop-off zones to further aid accessibility
Landscape and Ecology
- Active Travel Routes through West Park and Westmount Gardens will include upgrades to
existing routes and the creation of new routes with links to existing pathway networks
- Integration and enhancement of green spaces and public realm to support health and
wellbeing for patients, staff and public
- The landscape and ecology plan has been devised to improve biodiversity and quality of
the areas surrounding the acute hospital. Three times as many trees will be planted
compared to the number of trees lost; those that will be removed are in poor condition or
are of poor quality
- Extensive and intensive green roofs will be utilised across the hospital roofscape, increasing
biodiversity and improving the environmental performance of the building
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