Ministers are currently discussing an action plan to move the £466-million project forwards, but have remained tight-lipped about the progress of the scheme.
The project was thrown back to square one after States Members rescinded the decision to build on the existing hospital site during a debate in February.
It is understood that a shortlist of potential areas – including the Gloucester Street site – remain on the table, but no formal proposals have been lodged for States debate.
Environment Minister John Young believes there are ‘one or two’ privately owned sites which could house the new building and that senior politicians should be ‘bold enough’ to explore those options. The minister did not reveal which sites he had in mind.
He added that any decision on the site should only be made once the clinical needs of the new building had been fully established.
An initial 2012 survey of 41 possible options was drawn up before the sites were whittled down to a 13-strong longlist. Five sites were eventually identified and are thought to be back on the table – Overdale, the Waterfront, Warwick Farm, St Saviour’s Hospital and the existing hospital site.
That initial 41-strong list included a handful of privately owned sites, including the Norman’s site at Five Oaks, Samarès Nurseries in St Clement and the Le Masurier’s land in Bath Street, which is now being earmarked for a £70-million redevelopment.
Deputy Young, who rejected the second planning application for Gloucester Street in January, said: ‘My view of this case is that what we have had is two planning applications, both of which failed to comply with Island Plan policies.
‘The first one was very straight forward and the second one was improved but not sufficiently enough to gain approval.
‘We need to do pre-application consultation. After the first one was turned down by [former Environment Minister] Deputy [Steve] Luce, they put together the second application within an extraordinary short period of time.
‘The issue of engaging with the public at a pre-application consultation, that has to be based, I think, on a more robust and tested statement of what the clinical requirements are.’
Deputy Young said a complete overview of the Island’s clinical needs needed to ‘happen at the first stage’ before a further planning application was made.
And he said that, in addition to the shortlisted sites, he had one or two other options close to town in mind that should be explored.
‘I think we should be bold enough to consider privately owned site which can meet the clinical requirements,’ he said. ‘That would need to consider the use, exceptionally, of compulsory purchase powers.
‘The clinical requirement is not yet fully known. If we are spending half a billion pounds, we need to not only get it right, but it needs to be something to be proud of.
‘I don’t think we should look at 41 sites. We have got the main shortlisted sites that were identified and, as far as I know, those are still on the table.
‘I am open to an additional site to meet the clinical requirements in addition to those that are currently shortlisted.’
The minister added that he hoped to ‘broaden the number of political members’ who will ultimately decide on the planning application by allowing him to consult with his assistant minister, Deputy Gregory Guida, and Planning Committee chairman Deputy Russell Labey.
