Planning permission for Jersey's new hospital refused for a second time

Planning permission to build Jersey's new hospital on the current site has been refused by Deputy John Young.

The Planning Minister announced his decision after considering a second report by an Independent Planning Inspector.

The inspector Philip Staddon considered the first application for a new hospital in November 2017 and recommended against building due to the "grossly out of scale, an over dominant, obtrusive and alien structure."

In his second report, Mr Staddon said plans for a lower, wider plan on the current site should be refused based on size and residential impact.

He concluded that the development should not proceed unless Deputy Young believed the "public interest in building the new hospital outweighs the proposed development's inconsistencies with the Island Plan."

A brief summary of the reasons Deputy John Young cites for the inspector's recommendation of refusal include:

• Design, townscape and visual impacts

The inspector believes the building would be too large for the current site.

• Residential amenity

The inspector concludes from his report that the new development would lead to "unreasonable harm" to people living nearby and their amenities.

• Heritage

The site "would not preserve or enhance" heritage assets.

Deputy Young decided to follow the recommendation, arguing that the site is "not quite large enough to comfortably accommodate the proposed scheme" and ultimately rejecting the application.