Proposed housing near to Guernsey hospital to be debated

Proposals to stop any building on green fields next to the Princess Elizabeth Hospital (PEH) will be debated by the States.

The fields are being considered for new housing for nurses and key workers.

The vice-president of the Committee for Economic Development submitted a requete, a political petition, to debate the issue of key worker housing.

Deputy Steve Falla argued the field should not be built on due to it being an "agricultural priority area".

"In my view it is not right that two committees, which are not unanimous, may be able to build on the green field at the PEH without coming to the States so that the whole assembly can give some direction on this departure from existing and well-established policies," he said.

The Policy and Resources Committee and the Health and Social Care Committee found the site to be a suitable location for accommodation.

Last month, the President for the Development and Planning Authority Deputy Victoria Oliver said there appeared to be a "strong case to be made in principle for more key worker accommodation on the PEH campus".

Deputies who signed the petition include Tina Bury, Peter Roffey, Lindsay de Sausmarez, Adrian Gabriel, Heidi Soulsby and Simon Fairclough.

The well-trodden battle lines of this current assembly are set for another airing as this debate over where to build housing for key workers comes to the States later this year.

In the red corner, Policy and Resources (P&R) President Deputy Peter Ferbrache and lieutenants Deputies David Mahoney and Mark Helyar.

In the blue corner former Guernsey Partnership of Independents member Deputy Steve Falla, ably assisted by this assembly's thorn in the side of P&R, Deputy Peter Roffey.

It is set for a showdown, which will be tight - right now it is difficult to see who will be the winner.

The arguments surrounding the building on brownfield land before green field are well accepted politically.

But with a will for "action this day" P&R aren't afraid to be unorthodox and in some cases take up unpopular battles - which this may prove to be.

Follow BBC Guernsey on Twitter and Facebook. Send your story ideas to [email protected].