Bouygues UK – a subsidiary of Bouygues Construction and a firm with experience delivering more than 400 healthcare facilities worldwide – has been named as the government’s preferred tender for the new hospital project at Overdale.
Construction could begin as early as next year, pending final agreements, following a series of delays to the project.
The New Healthcare Facilities Programme team will now work with Bouygues UK “to refine their proposals, confirm their supply chain and price, and prepare for the main works in early 2026”, according to the government.
And ‘Meet the Buyer’ events will be taking place in the coming months to enable Bouygues UK and the NHFP team “to advise and inform the local construction industry and supply chain of the potential upcoming opportunities on the project”.
Health Minister Tom Binet noted that the programme has “already created opportunities for the local market”.
Health Minister Tom Binet at the Overdale site in 2023. PICTURE: James Jeune
“Rest assured, every opportunity that we get to include local businesses, we will,” he told the JEP.
“It’s important to us and has been a cornerstone for the work that’s been done so far.”
A planning permit for the Overdale site has also been granted, following approval of the £710 million plans earlier this year.
The price tag includes delivery of the acute hospital as well as funding to progress other elements of the programme, including an ambulatory facility at Kensington Place and a health village in St Saviour.
Who are Bouygues UK?
Bouygues Construction is a global group initially founded in 1952 in France in the aftermath of the Second World War.
Its UK subsidiary has been in operation for more than a quarter of a century.
The firm primarily focuses on large-scale projects particularly in the areas of housing, healthcare and education
In recent financial results, Bouygues UK recorded a pre-tax loss of more than £30m last year and £62.1m the year before.
Despite this, Bouygues UK has secured new contracts, including the lucrative hospital project.
Deputy Binet said that he was confident in the preferred contractor’s financial stability and said that that “parent company will be giving a guarantee” in relation to project.
Previous projects
University College Hospital Grafton Way Building & Proton Beam Therapy Centre
Bouygues UK delivered the £209 million Grafton Way Building and Proton Beam Therapy Centre for University College Hospital in London.
The 34,600m², 57-metre-tall facility includes one of the UK’s first proton beam therapy units.
The project created a new cancer centre beside University College London Hospital, with specialist inpatient services and a proton beam therapy unit housed in a 25-metre-deep basement.
It also included a day-surgery unit to replace facilities in the nearby UCLH tower.
Above ground, the seven-storey facility – roughly the height of London’s Tower Bridge – provides a modern, purpose-built inpatient centre for specialist cancer care.
It includes 82 single NHS beds, 30 isolation rooms, 52 private bedrooms, a 10-bed ICU/HDU, and a 20-bed ward operating on a 23-hour basis.
A new underground tunnel was also constructed to link the building directly into UCLH’s service network, allowing power, oxygen, IT systems and other essential services to run between the new facility and the rest of the hospital campus.
Barnet Hospital Barnet and Chase Farm Hospital NHS Trust
At Barnet Hospital, part of the Barnet and Chase Farm Hospital NHS Trust situated in North London, Bouygues UK delivered a £17 million refurbishment and major upgrade while keeping the hospital fully operational.
Works included a new Paediatric Assessment Unit and Paediatric A&E, a Resuscitation Ward, remodelling of A&E to create additional majors and minors bays, a two-storey Obstetric and Midwifery unit, and upgrades to the Neo-Natal and Special Care Baby Unit.
Following completion of the project, the Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Clinical Strategy team presented a Certificate of Appreciation to Bouygues UK’s site team, recognising their “valuable contribution and support to the Emergency Department during the BEH work programme.”
Broomfield Hospital Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust
Bouygues UK delivered the £148 million Broomfield Hospital Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust – a 43,000m² facility with 300 beds and a broad range of clinical departments.
The hospital includes five day-case operating theatres, three endoscopy suites, an A&E department with 110 assessment beds, a maternity unit with two operating theatres, a neonatal intensive care unit, a new renal department, and a dedicated Aseptic Suite.
The project included the installation of network infrastructure and specialist medical equipment.
Bouygues UK and the hospital held regular open meetings for local residents and hospital staff, providing updates on progress and offering a forum to address concerns.
The team also shared both the overall programme and short-term look-ahead plans.
Throughout the programme, the project consistently achieved high scores under the Considerate Constructors Scheme, culminating in a National Bronze Award in 2011.
The hospital saga so far
May 2012 – Health Minister Anne Pryke announced that the Island will need a new hospital within ten years.
April 2013 – The project suffers a setback as a number of members of the Council of Ministers raise cost concerns about building a new hospital.
July 2013 – A two-site project is put forward on the current site and at Overdale. The two-site plan is later dismissed by Health officials.
February 2016 – Health Minister Andrew Green unveils a four-site shortlist of where the new Hospital could be built – the current site, Overdale, the Waterfront and the People’s Park
February 2016 – The People’s Park is removed from the shortlist amid public protests.
June 2016 – A new build on the current hospital site is proposed.
December 2016 – The States agree to build the new Hospital on the existing Gloucester Street site.
May 2017 – Treasury Minister Alan Maclean withdraws the funding proposals the day before the scheduled debate.
December 2017 – Funding proposals are finally agreed which will see the States borrow up to £275 million and fund the rest of the project through the Strategic Reserve.
January 2018 – A planning application for Gloucester Street is rejected by then-Environment Minister Steve Luce who cited concerns over the size and scale of the project.
January 2019 – A second planning application for Gloucester Street is rejected by Environment Minister John Young.
February 2019 – The States rescinds the decision to redevelop the Gloucester Street hospital site and also rule out building on the People’s Park and surrounding areas
July 2020 – Five possible sites are announced for the new hospital – Overdale, Millbrook, St Andrew’s Park, fields at Five Oaks and the People’s Park. St Helier Constable Simon Crowcroft says he will fight to preserve the People’s Park as green space, and lodges a proposition to protect St Andrew’s Park. St Lawrence Constable Deirdre Mezbourian does the same for Millbrook.
September 2020 – Three sites – Millbrook, St Andrew’s Park and Five Oaks – are withdrawn to leave only Overdale and the People’s Park.
October 2020 – Publication of site evaluation report explaining the final shortlist of two sites coincides with an announcement from ministers that Overdale is their chosen site.
November 2020 – Members give approval for Overdale as the preferred site for the new hospital following a debate in the States Assembly.
January 2021 – Advocate Olaf Blakeley calls a requéte – an ancient legal device used to call a parish assembly – in a bid to block work being carried out on St Helier land until such time as detailed designs for proposed access routes via Westmount Road are available.
February 2021 – A St Helier parish assembly revokes permission for work on parish land. The Our Hospital project team is ordered to come back with fresh plans before being allowed to carry out preparatory site works.
May 2021 – The Our Hospital team unveil the first glimpse of what the proposed building could look like.
December 2021 – A St Helier parish assembly rejects a £6.5m offer from the government for parish-owned land required for the project. The decision meant that compulsory purchase orders would have to be sought in order for the government to acquire the land.
February 2022 – Plans to raze all buildings at Overdale are unanimously rejected by the Planning Committee.
May 2022 – Environment Minister John Young grants conditional approval for the Hospital project at Overdale after independent planning inspector Philip Staddon, who recommended the build for approval.
September 2022 – Following the election and change of government, rising cost concerns prompt a government review of the project.
November 2022 – The review concluded that the single-site hospital at Overdale was no longer achievable within the approved funding envelope of £804.5 million. A recommendation for a phased, multi-site scheme across Overdale, Kensington Place and the existing hospital site at Gloucester Street Hospital is made.
December 2022 – A proposition from Deputy Lyndon Farnham aimed to prevent the government abandoning the approved Overdale plans is defeated, paving the way for the multi-site solution to progress.
February 2023 – The New Healthcare Facilities Programme is formally launched as a replacement for the previous Our Hospital project. The government presents a report to the States Assembly outlining the new multi-site, phased development strategy.
December 2023 – Demolition work of the dilapidated healthcare buildings at the back of the Overdale site begins.
March 2024 – The first designs of Jersey’s new acute hospital at Overdale are unveiled.
September 2024 – A planning application for the Overdale hospital is submitted with Environment Minister Steve Luce ruling that the application would not be the subject of a public inquiry – as had been the case with previous applications.
November 2024 – Demolition of the former healthcare buildings at Overdale is complete.
February 2025 – The Planning Committee unanimously signs off on plans for the hospital, allowing work to begin.
November 2025 – Bouygues UK is confirmed as the preferred contractor to carry out the work for the acute hospital at Overdale, with work expected to start before next summer.
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