Chief Minister John Le Fondré set up the Hospital Review Board in July and tasked it to re-examine six sites for the new facility that have previously been discounted. These are – the People’s Park, St Saviour’s Hospital, Warwick Farm, Overdale and the Waterfront, as well as a dual-site option.
Health Minister Richard Renouf, a member of the board, said the panel expected to report its findings to Senator Le Fondré shortly. It was previously envisaged that the report would be ready in October.
‘We are still working through our conclusions,’ Deputy Renouf said. ‘I can’t say more than that, really. We hope to be finished by the middle of this month and to report to the Chief Minister.’
When asked if their report would be made public, the minister replied: ‘I think the intention is as the board was set up by the Chief Minister he will decide what to do next.’
Deputy Renouf’s comments come as Environment Minister John Young awaits a report from UK independent planning inspector Philip Staddon.
Initial plans to build on the existing plot were rejected by the then Environment Minister, Steve Luce, in January following the recommendation of Mr Staddon, who held a public inquiry into the proposal, owing to concerns over the mass and scale of the project.
A fresh application to build on the current site, and reduce the height of the building from nine storeys to six, was submitted by the Future Hospital team in April.
Mr Staddon is expected to publish a report on the latest application this month after he held a second public inquiry in September.
