Plans for 90 new homes at Castel Hospital site
DESIGN plans have been drawn up for 90 new homes on States-owned land at the Castel Hospital, and the King Edward VII hospital has been earmarked for a new care home or a care village.
And as part of the States property rationalisation project, there are also proposals for new apartments at the Princess Elizabeth Hospital to accommodate nurses, creating more homes in that sector of the housing market.
In an open letter in today’s Guernsey Press, Deputy David Mahoney, the property lead on Policy & Resources, has updated islanders on significant changes to the £2bn. portfolio of buildings and land owned by the States.
Lukis House, Swissville and Garden Hill are all due to be sold and their services moved to Raymond Falla House in St Martin’s, which has already been emptied of staff and is under renovation.
A further seven States buildings, which are all vacant, have been put up for sale or are due to go on the market shortly.
These include the old education building in the Grange, which is under offer from the Queens Road Medical Practice, Hayward House in St Martin’s, and Beaucette Place in St Sampson’s.
WATCH: DEPUTY MAHONEY ON THE PLANS REVEALED IN HIS OPEN LETTER
The intention is that the money from the sale of properties will be ring-fenced for use on other capital projects, and will not go into the States general revenue.
At the Castel Hospital site, the vision is for 90 homes with three, four or five bedrooms and decent-sized gardens and appropriate parking to satisfy the higher end of the market.
It has been stressed that the land would not just be sold off to developers, the idea is that there would be a joint venture between the States and the construction industry, which would not involve the Guernsey Housing Association. It is anticipated that up to 150 apartments for key workers at the PEH would take a lot of heat out of the private rental market, as well as improving the recruitment and retention of nurses.
Deputy Mahoney reassured islanders that Policy & Resources was very aware of the housing problems and work was well under way to deliver tangible results.
‘Hopefully people can see that there’s a lot going on behind the scenes and, as ever, things take time. There’s a process to be gone through, and some may want to scream and shout about it all the time, but we just like to get on with it in the background and get things done, and we should see these things coming through quite soon.’
