Jersey hospital plans for Overdale site approved

Plans for the new hospital at Overdale have been approved, subject to some conditions.

The environment minister agreed the scheme could go ahead following an independent inspector's report.

The more than 40 conditions include a public consultation on the materials used for the buildings and landscaping.

Developers have been told to tell planning in advance what they intend to do about the environmental aspects of the conditions before starting work.

Islanders will also be consulted about the external lighting.

Minister for the Environment Deputy John Young, who has announced he will not stand in next month's general election, said the project was the "biggest ever public infrastructure project" the government had faced.

He said: "It is a major, complex and costly project which is intended to serve the island's needs for decades to come.

"The project to deliver the new hospital has been dogged with difficulties, contention and delays."

Analysis - Freddie Miller, BBC Jersey Political Reporter

It's the decision some felt would never be made.

After a decade of talking about Jersey's new hospital, experts will actually be able to begin building it.

And unlike the two "outline" applications rejected in the past, the document approved today is a detailed planning application - with all the trimmings.

As such, this is arguably the most significant decision in relation to the hospital since the project began.

But while the biggest hurdle facing this £804.5m development has now fallen, plenty of challenges remain.

The project team will need to meet every single one of the conditions it has been set, and seek approval in writing from the planning department before each phase of work can begin.

The rising cost of building materials has been well-documented, while the impact of a new cohort of politicians, following next month's election, remains to be seen.

But those behind these plans will feel that with planning permission granted, none of these issues will be insurmountable.

History tells us that nobody can accurately predict what will happen next, but regardless of whether it opens on time or on budget, it is now more likely than it has ever been that the new hospital will be built at Overdale.

The Overdale site was chosen as the new hospital location in November 2020, with the project expected to be completed by 2026.

The following year politicians approved increasing the budget of £550m to £804.5m.

Jersey's planning committee refused permission for derelict hospital buildings at Overdale to be demolished in February 2022.

At the time the committee members said they could not approve the demolition when the main works had not been agreed.

The new approved plans include permission for the demolition.

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