Latest push to build on PEH field fails to sway critics

Thursday 05 October 2023

Policy & Resources has “failed to make any new arguments” in its bid to push through housing development on a hospital field, according to Deputy Steve Falla.

For the project to house health workers to go ahead, P&R, which is supported by Health & Social Care, needs to justify why other options are not viable.

After their initial planning application in December, planners asked for more detailed information to show the strategic need for the development and how other sites nearby were ruled out.

Deputy Steve Falla is one of those that has consistently campaigned against the development.

“There are lots of extra words in the ‘further information’ from P&R, almost everything but the kitchen sink in fact, but importantly there are no new arguments that address the S5 requirements,” he said. 

“Within their site selection top scoring options, five of the top six are fields, while pushing the brownfield site options within their specified catchment further down the list.

“The HSC letter repeats the perceived staff preference to live on site but the requerants have never heard from any health staff endorsing this view.”

Medical Specialist Group interim chair Dr Steve Evans has said in an interview with CONNECT magazine that being able to walk off site at the end of the day made a massive difference.

MSG sold the Braye Lodge site near the hospital to the States to be developed as key worker housing.

Deputy Falla said that even P&R admitted that the valley field would be a challenging site to develop due to a combination of ground conditions, environmental considerations and the higher costs of development. 

“I agree it is frustrating that there have been delays in progressing the CI Tyres and Braye Lodge key worker sites but the nature of these things means the field would be unlikely to be any speedier. Nothing has really changed. The very high S5 hurdles relating to this application remain.”

 A record number of 350 representations were made when the plans for the field were first submitted. 

 Those will still stand, but people now have until 25 October to make more comments too.

P&R/HSC have ruled out CI Tyres brownfield site as an alternative to building on the Vauquiedor field because, they say, it is too far from the hospital for workers to commute.

It’s less than a mile away. https://t.co/00M8uxgvKe

— Yvonne Burford (@YvonneBurford) October 4, 2023

Deputy Yvonne Burford pointed at that P&R and HSC had ruled out the CI Tyres brownfield site as an alternative to building on the PEH field because, they say, it is too far from the hospital.

“It’s less than a mile away,” she said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Deputy Heidi Soulsby, a former HSC President, agreed.

“Reading the ‘resubmission’ there’s no further evidence to justify the criteria. Provision of electric bikes would make it a five minute journey. It’s on a bus route too.”

HSC member Tina Bury and P&R member Jonathan Le Tocq do not back their committee’s proposals.