Hospital review delayed amid doubt over developer compensation

Friday 14 October 2022

The Government has confirmed that the publication of the final hospital review report has been delayed, just as doubt was cast over whether costs racked up by halting the contract to build 106 new homes on Kensington Place will definitely be covered – contrary to previous comments by the Infrastructure Minister.

The Government is currently reviewing the £805m new hospital project, and, while that's happening, has stopped building work on the Andium homes being built by Dandara in the area of Kensington Place.

He responded: "Yes, Ma'am, why not? Yes, a firm yes."

But during a Scrutiny hearing yesterday, the Chief Minister, Deputy Kristina Moore, suggested that the matter was not settled.

Deputy Sam Mézec asked the Chief Minster, Deputy Kristina Moore, whether, after pulling the plug on the Andium development, she was prepared to commit to compensation. 

Pictured: Andium had been hoping to build more than 100 homes on the site.

She said that she would “prefer to focus on the outcomes” and that, in any case, she hoped that any homes provided in future would be of “better quality”, noting that the design was not the “greatest offering” and that the “unsustainable units of accommodation on narrow streets” had been singled out in the Island Plan inspector.

Deputy Lyndon Farnham – formerly leader of the Our Hospital project and now a Scrutineer – put the question differently, noting that it was “highly unlikely” a large-scale project developer would agree to “down tools” without a financial arrangement.

Deputy Moore said that, “naturally there’s a negotiation between the two parties involved”. She added that she did not think anything was “straightforward” without seeing the outcome of the review of the hospital being led by Deputy Binet with the support of Lead Advisor Alan Moore, the Health Minister Deputy Karen Wilson and Assistant Health Minister Deputy Rose Binet. 

Elsewhere in the hearing, Deputy Moore was grilled on cost, having described the previous project’s £804m price-tag as “extortionate”. 

The Chief Minister – who as Chief Scrutineer in the previous States Assembly had brought an amendment to cap the previous hospital project’s spending at £550m – maintained that it would not be possible to say before the review was complete. 

She did, however, confirm that Ministers were “duty-bound” to come back to the Assembly with a final figure for their approval. She also emphasised during the hearing that her focus was on delivering an "affordable and appropriate" solution.

As the meeting reached its concluding minutes, it was confirmed that the final report on the ongoing review of the hospital project would not be delivered until 1 November. 

Shortly after, the Government issued a press release confirming this, and that a draft of the review document will be complete by 20 October, “after which it will be subject to final governance checks” prior to being shared with Scrutiny and other States Members.

The release said that “significant progress” had been made on the review involving interviews with key stakeholders, and a visit to Northern Ireland.

“The visits to Northern Ireland and the stakeholder interviews are giving us great insights into the suitability of the different options which could be feasible in Jersey,” The Infrastructure Minister was quoted as saying.  

“The panel has been working hard to research and explore all options thoroughly in accordance with the scope of the review as it is vital that we ensure new healthcare facilities meet the current and future needs of the Island and are viable in the current financial climate.”