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The former Les Quennevais School will become a hospital 'satellite' site for the next quarter of a century, if the recommendations of the Infrastructure Minister's review are accepted.
Currently, the former school, which sits on the edge of the Clos des Sables housing estate, is being converted into a temporary hospital under plans proposed under the previous Our Hospital plans.
The plan was to move most services currently being provided at Overdale to Les Quennevais while the former is demolished and a new hospital is built.
That is still the plan but, under the recommendations announced by Infrastructure Minister Tom Binet following a £30,000 review, the former school will stay a hospital for a lot longer, becoming a key facility in the ‘multi-site’ option proposed by the St. Saviour Deputy and his review team.
Although the details of what goes there are yet to be determined, Deputy Binet told the Assembly on Wednesday that the cost of converting the school was £13m and for an additional £2m, the once-temporary hospital could be made to last 25 years.
“This is a recommendation, and it is up to for the Assembly to decide if it is accepted or not. Furthermore, it might be worth considering that £13m has been spent there and if a bulldozer goes in there in five years’ time, we have to consider the value for money that we have got for that spend.
Pictured: Residents of Clos des Sables and Les Quennevais Park could have a hospital on their doorstep for a lot longer than anticipated.
“For the cost of about £2m more, that site will be made valuable to its new purpose for about 25-plus years. I think that is a point worth considering in terms of value for taxpayers’ money.”
The former school is currently surrounded by hoarding while contractor Rok makes significant changes to the internal structure of the buildings.
Although the fate of the former school has not been set after its five years as a hospital, the site has been earmarked for housing.
In the States this morning, St. Brelade Deputy Montfort Tadier raised concerns that residents in the area had not been consulted. However, Deputy Binet stressed that it was a recommendation of the review at this stage and consultation would follow.
The approved plans for Les Quennevais include the creation of two access roads for homes off Clos des Sables.
141 parking spaces will be available, as it is planned the former playground will be turned into parking spaces, with a car park reserved for staff to be accessed from Clos des Sables.
Services that were due to move to Les Quennevais from Overdale include:
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Our Hospital(s)? Gov review proposes multi-site solution
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