Concerns raised over scale of new hospital

Concerns were raised by Islanders about the scale of the buildings and how the development would overlook a number of private homes.

Environment Minister Steve Luce called the inquiry, which is being led by independent inspector Philip Staddon, after it was proposed that the new hospital should be built on the current site, extending onto plots on Kensington Place.

During the hearing yesterday, images of how the proposed new hospital would look from a number of different town locations were shown.

Ben Oakman, an expert in visual impact assessment, said that the impact of the proposed development would be ‘negligible’ to the view from Westmount.

His comment was met with laughter from several members of the audience as they were shown an image of how the new hospital would look.

Mr Oakman said that he evaluated the visual impact of the proposed hospital from a number of different locations and assessed the effect from each of the sites.

He admitted that his job is often ‘by its nature a subjective subject’.

The public inquiry comes as fresh opposition to the Hospital design was outlined at a public meeting last week.

Christopher McCarthy, who resigned from his position as the sustainable commissioner for the Jersey Architecture Commission in order to object to the proposals, urged Islanders to speak out about the
plans.

During the public inquiry, John Baker, a political campaigner for the Jersey Action Group, questioned why a building of such height should be granted planning permission.

He said: ‘I think the height is 141 feet, which in Jersey terms in very high.

‘The current guidelines are for around six floors – 141 feet is really the equivalent of 17 floors – nearly three times the height.

He added that St Helier was the equivalent of a small UK town and questioned whether such an application would be approved in a town of comparatively small buildings in England.

Meanwhile, Andrew Le Quesne raised concerns about the impact the building would have on the privacy of nearby residents. ‘We have the issue of windows,’ he said. ‘I know from the aspirations of Bernard Place [project director for the future hospital scheme] they want to have lots of windows.

‘There is no question that there will be a lot of windows overlooking residents’ homes.’

Richard Glover, planning lead for Jersey Property Holdings, attempted to reassure Islanders that the impact on nearby residents would be included in future assessments for the hospital project.

The inquiry is expected to last the remainder of the week and a report will subsequently be issued by Mr Staddon.

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