THE build contract for the new hospital will be ready for the government to review ‘early in the next term of office’, according to the Deputy Chief Minister.
Senator Lyndon Farnham welcomed Environment Minister John Young’s conditional approval of the planning application for the £800 million facility, due to be built at Overdale.
Deputy Young, who is not seeking re-election, made the decision after considering a report by independent planning inspector Philip Staddon – who recommended the build for approval following a public inquiry held earlier this year.
The completion of a landscape ecology management plan, a site waste-management plan and a plan of materials used for the buildings were included among the minister’s conditions.
Senator Farnham said: ‘I am incredibly grateful to everyone who has helped the project reach this stage, and of course to the planning inspector for his comprehensive report and the Environment Minister for his decision – which will now allow us the opportunity to deliver the hospital on time and in budget by December 2026.’
The move marks a major development in the new hospital saga, with two prior planning applications for a new build on the existing Gloucester Street site being refused and a number of possible sites debated over the course of a decade.
Senator Farnham said: ‘I am particularly pleased for our frontline doctors, nurses and various health staff who have been working extremely hard in almost untenable conditions, as this will give them some hope. We have delivered what the Assembly asked us to do – we have designed a first-class health facility with access and a budget that has been agreed by the States, and it is our job to see it through.
‘The project has already faced delays on numerous occasions as a result of politics, and any further delays in providing our crumbling health estate with this vital facility will only result in additional cost – as well as putting lives at risk.’
He added: ‘The key objective now for the Our Hospital team is to negotiate the build contract with our design and delivery partner, which we will be focused on over the summer and will be ready for the new government to review early in the next term of office.’
Commenting on whether he thought the scheme was likely to be completed on time, he said: ‘We have a very professional and skilled team of individuals and construction partners and, if we are able to keep this momentum going, I am confident we will complete the project on schedule and in budget.’
