Nearly £4m spent on two more homes for Overdale

Thursday 23 September 2021

The Government has spent nearly £4m on two more homes to make way for the new hospital at Overdale.

Briez Izel, which is located opposite Overdale along Westmount Road, was purchased for £1.75m on 13 August.

The owner, who has been asked to leave the property by 30 April 2022, was also given £70,000 to cover costs associated with the sale and to assist with the acquisition of an alternative property.

Camden, which sits behind Overdale, was bought on the same day for £2m. 

Its owner, who has been asked to leave by 31 December 2021, was given £75,000 to cover costs and to assist with buying a new property.

Both contracts contained a ‘buy back’ option allowing the properties’ former owners first refusal on reacquiring them if the hospital project does not go ahead and the homes are no longer needed.

CLICK TO ENLARGE: Plans for the new hospital at Overdale. (GoJ)

All homeowners whose properties were purchased for the hospital project were given deadlines to leave when their contracts were passed, with the majority being New Year's Eve. However, the Government recently granted extensions for two homeowners - it is understood that this will not impact the hospital timetable.

14 properties have now been bought by Government around Overdale and Westmount Road, with a total of £19.7m spent on acquiring land and property so far.

The cost of such acquisitions had previously been estimated to be £16m. 

The Minister leading the project, Senator Lyndon Farnham, said last week that two private properties look likely to be compulsorily purchased. 

The Government is still in discussions with the Parish of St. Helier about its land, which includes the People's Park.  

Field 1550, which is set to house the hospital’s accompanying mental health facility, is among the key parcels of land the Government still needs to obtain for the project.

However, as Express reported earlier this month, a local developer appears to be pushing forward with plans to build new homes on it, having erected a sign featuring a picture of the proposed new homes with the tagline: “Coming soon.”

When Express called the number on the billboard to find out more, the person taking enquiries for the site said the developer was “not talking to any press” about their intentions for the field.

Pictured: The advertisement on Field 1550.

According to the Planning register, a planning application for the site was submitted last year and is currently listed as awaiting a ‘planning obligation agreement’.

The plans proposed to demolish a two-storey home and associated buildings, to make way for two three-bedroom homes with parking.

The application also involved changing the use of part of the field from agricultural land to residential use to create new access onto Westmount Road, whilst the current access from Old St. John’s Road would be extinguished and returned to the field.

The applicant also planned to plant 23 trees and “tidy up” the site, according to the Planning and design statement prepared by Socrates Architects.