£12m spent on hospital property purchases

Wednesday 16 June 2021

Nearly £12m has been spent on buying up homes and land needed for the new hospital at Overdale so far – and negotiations to secure more remain “ongoing”.

By mid-April, the Government had spent around £4m on three properties opposite Overdale.

But Royal Court documents seen by Express show that at least 11 more acquisitions have been made since then, with the majority taking place in May. 

Seven homes have been bought, with the sales contracts worth between £1.7m and £763,995. 

Two garages were also sold at £20,000 each, and a parcel of garden land for £16,800.

CLICK TO ENLARGE: A birds' eye view of the new hospital 'masterplan'. 

Field H1550A, over which a new car park is likely to sit, sold for £300,000. It neighbours Field 1550, which is believed to be the site of a ‘lost’ Megalithic dolmen and now earmarked to host a mental health facility.

Each of the contracts contained clauses relating to a final date of departure, ranging from summer at the earliest and New Years’ Eve at the latest. 

Three homeowners had their fees and relocation costs covered, with one entitled to £32,000.

The Government would not confirm how many more properties it would be buying up when asked by Express – Deputy Chief Minister and political lead on the hospital project, Senator Lyndon Farnham, stated that negotiations for the acquisition were still “ongoing”. 

“Due to the personal and commercial sensitivities of the negotiations still underway, further details will not be released at this stage, but will become publicly available in due course,” he said. 

However, it has previously been estimated that the overall spend on land purchases will total around £16m. 

Pictured: The predicted costs of property acquisitions previously outlined by the Government.

To assist with these purchases, the Treasury Minister agreed in March to give up to £11.2m from the Government’s central coffers. 

As Express reported earlier this week, Treasury was called on again to look at short-term financing for the hospital project late last month because it had fallen three months behind. This was blamed on States Members' calls to approve the new hospital highway plan.

It was originally hoped that plans to finance the £800m build would be approved by next month. However, those plans are now only due to be put forward in July, with a vote happening in September.

To ensure that the hospital project has enough money to continue throughout this period, Treasury has suggested taking £18m from a mixture of ongoing projects and underspends to bridge the gap.

Despite this delay, Senator Farnham told Express the overall hospital project was still “on track”, which he acknowledged was "ambitious".

Pictured: Senator Lyndon Farnham, who is leading the hospital project, was firm that the new Overdale facility was still on track to be complete by 2026.

“We’re working very tightly to the overall target of completing the hospital by the end of 2026 and working within the £804m estimates," the Senator said.

Hitting this target was crucial, he added, as, "after 2026, the existing facilities become much harder to maintain."

Senator Farnham explained that Treasury was now “working on the final details of the funding options”, which will then be presented to Ministers for consideration.  

Once Ministers have decided on their preferred plan to finance the build, they’ll put forward their proposal to the States Assembly.

He did not confirm the exact funding options being looked at, saying he was “not involved in that sort of detail”, but hinted at a blended option of borrowing and using reserves.

“The debate for Members will be over how much is borrowed… It’s ultimately a matter for the Treasury Minister and Treasury team, but we need to make sure we get the timing right on our borrowing and choose the right product.”

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