IMPROVEMENTS TO ST HELIER HOSPITAL

It was some years ago that the Association held a public meeting to urge improvements to St Helier Hospital which was built in the 1930’s and has much of its building unusable. The meeting was attended by its then Chief Executive, but, through no fault of his, little has been done since.

The Government has now announced that £57 million has been promised to expand and upgrade it. Plans include a better Emergency Department, with same day care services to reduce overnight stays, and a new Urgent Treatment Centre.

We hope that the advent of a new Prime Minister, and the perceived need to reduce capital expenditure in all government spending departments, will not impact on these proposals.

POTHOLES

The Times did an analysis of official government data of which councils had the worst roads in the country for potholes. Among London boroughs the worst was Richmond upon Thames, the second was Wandsworth and the third was Merton. 

AFFORDABLE HOMES TARGET REDUCED

The London Mayor has reduced the number of affordable homes that developers need to build to secure planning approval. Previously 35% of large-scale building schemes had to be dedicated to “genuinely affordable” homes, on the promise that if developers hit that target City Hall was unlikely to intervene in local authority planning decisions.

Developers had complained that increases in costs had made proposed developments unviable. London has the slowest rate of building new houses in the UK.

That affordability target has been temporarily dropped to 20% in an attempt to unlock delivery on stalled sites. The new powers will last for 2 years.

Developers will also see 50% of their community infrastructure level, the amount they have to pay to local authorities as a condition of approval, written off if they reach the 20% target.

John Elvidge, Chair