The original application for the £446 million facility was rejected earlier this year by Environment Minister Steve Luce following a recommendation from a UK planning inspector.
Since then a number of concerned Islanders have been asking for the debate on the location to be re-opened.
Speaking yesterday at a scrutiny hearing attended by about 50 people, Health Minister Andrew Green and Infrastructure Minister Eddie Noel reaffirmed their position that the current hospital site is the right location.
And Jersey Property Holdings’ head of major projects, Richard Glover, confirmed that the project team hoped to lodge a fresh application during the week beginning Monday 9 April.
Ray Foster, director of JPH, said that under revised plans, the building could be 15 per cent to 20 per cent wider to enable it to be reduced in height.
Independent planning inspector Philip Staddon, who was commissioned to carry out a review of the initial application, found that the original proposed build would be ‘over dominant, obtrusive and alien’ in the landscape of St Helier and would be ‘grossly out of scale with the immediate surroundings’.
Mr Glover said: ‘When we received the minister’s decision we looked at what the concerns were.
‘We saw where the scheme was unacceptable and started work with our designers to try to resolve the issues.
‘We are able to extend the red line within the hospital site so the footprint is increased.’
Deputy Noel added: ‘The idea is that we remain on the same location working within the guidelines of the outline business case to produce a hospital that is fit for purpose for many generations to come.’
Mr Foster added that a phased approach to the build is now being proposed with the first building extending onto Kensington Place and the second phase building on land cleared following the transfer of services into the new facility.
During the Future Hospital Review Panel hearing, which took place in the States Chamber due to the public interest, Mr Foster confirmed that just under £26 million had been spent on the project so far.
He said: ‘An awful lot of what has been done to date can be used in a different type of development. It is not a case of going back to square one.’
When asked whether any consideration had been given to reviewing previous site options in the wake of Mr Staddon’s comments, Senator Green said there was ‘no point’ as the work had already been done.
He said: ‘The project group has done the work, Scrutiny’s own advisors did that work – on three different occasions now that work has been done.
‘There is no point going back and getting the same answer to the same question. Overall the best site is the site that has been selected.’
Deputies Simon Brée, John Le Fondré, Richard Renouf, Kevin Lewis, Terry McDonald and Senator Sarah Ferguson were sitting on the panel.
