Latest hospital designs revealed

Tuesday 16 March 2021

The latest plans for Jersey's £800m new hospital have been revealed in a 'virtual exhibition' online, confirming that the preferred option is a build sitting over part of Westmount Road.

As part of the exhibition, which launched on the OurHospital.je site yesterday, islanders were also able to see the latest designs for the key hospital access route, and were provided an update on the design and planning work that had been carried out so far.

The designs released confirmed that, as previously reported by Express, a new hospital design appears to have replaced the initial style shared with States Members and the public, which involved finger-like wards looking out towards St. Aubin's Bay.

The latest plans instead show a more rectangular building over Westmount Road and further towards the field in front of the current Overdale site. The 'key' accompanying the diagram explains that, rather than cutting across the road, part of the hospital area has been "projected over road to increase floorspace".

CLICK TO ENLARGE: The preferred design.

Outlining the benefits of the chosen design option, the online presentation states: 

• "It enables the best conditions to create high quality, flexible, clinical and operational spaces;
• It allows for the mass and height of the hospital to better integrate into the surrounding context;
• It allows maximum opportunity to integrate with the surrounding parklands and woodland areas and creates the best space around the building for accessible public spaces;
• It provides a sensitive interface with the properties to the southern boundary;
• It allows the buildings to be situated to maximise public access in and around the site."

The virtual exhibition also confirms the current plan for the hospital highway, which includes the addition of a 4m wide 'active travel route', as Express reported earlier this month.

The diagram indicates that that roadway will be widened to "accommodate the movement of two buses and an ambulance passing a bus" and that the junction onto Peirson Road will have to be altered.

CLICK TO ENLARGE: The preferred hospital highway design.

The presentation explains: "The road will be designed in such a way as to avoid and reduce the risk of accidents, blockages and delays to journey times. Road access to the new hospital must provide safe and reliable 24/7 access for all users including emergency vehicles. Improved access for journeys made by bus, on foot and by cycle are key.

"The emerging Westmount Road design takes into consideration the need to alter its alignment and widen the road to an indicative 10.7m travel corridor. This corridor width is to enable the safe movement of an increased flow of traffic travelling to and from the Overdale site on a day-to-day basis due to the larger and more varied capacity of the new hospital.

"The travel corridor includes an allowance for a constant width paved footway, cycle lane and verge. A foremost consideration in the design process is the need to minimise impacts on residents, The People’s Park, the environment and heritage, and to provide suitable mitigation to any predicted impacts as part of the design and planning application."

Islanders had previously expressed concerns about the loss of mature trees as the hospital and accompanying highway are constructed, and the impact on local ecology.

While the hospital diagram indicates where trees may be lost, the one of the preferred road option does not.

The online presentation explained: "Environmental assessments are being undertaken to inform the landscaping approach and the current intent is to preserve the oak tree which is located in the middle of the site. Optimising the design and layout of the buildings and retaining as many trees as possible is also key priority. Where works are required along Westmount Road, the aim is to retain all trees, including those which run adjacent to the perimeters of the park and up the first section of Westmount Road, where new cycle lanes and footpaths will be created.

"The design team are committed to ensuring that ecological values are protected and if any trees do require removal they will be replaced and enhanced."

Elsewhere in the presentation, the team also said that "as many existing trees on the site will be retained as possible" during the process of demolishing the 15 to 20 structures at Overdale.

The presentation confirmed that a total of three planning applications will need to be put forward as part of the process to build a new hospital in Jersey:

• one to move Overdale's services into a refurbished Les Quennevais School;
• one to demolish the existing buildings at Overdale, which will see the site fully fenced and secured
• and the full application for the future hospital and its accompanying highway.

Included in the latter planning application will be an Environmental Impact report, which will analyse the impact of the build on ecology and biodiversity, landscape and visual impact, heritage (including archeological), transport and accessibility, waste, noise, and air quality among others. 

So far, a number of  preliminary investigative surveys have been undertaken recently around Overdale, such as utilities surveys (water, electricity, gas and telecommunications), topographical surveys and geotechnical surveys. Ongoing surveys will continue to be undertaken to assess other site conditions, including arboricultural and ecological matters. The design team said these surveys will inform the design and engineering elements of the project.

A planning application isn't expected to be submitted until late 2021. Detailed internal designs will be drawn up in early 2022, with construction planned to begin in mid-2022 and the hospital finally opening in late 2026.

CLICK HERE to visit the virtual exhibition.