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Unsurprisingly, the debate is far from over. Yet, officially, it should be. The members of the territorial council have approved the plan to rebuild the Irénée de Bruyn Hospital on its current site in Gustavia, the project’s funding of 28.8 million euros, and the agreement that resolves uncertainties regarding ownership of the land. They approved it, but not unanimously. The eight territorial councilors from the Action-Équilibre group, formerly allied with Xavier Lédée’s five, continue to campaign for the project to be relocated to Saint-Jean, on land owned by the Territorial Collectivity. And to compel President Lédée to reconsider the matter, they launched a petition among the public during a public meeting held on Tuesday, April 7, at the Gustavia Harbor Master’s Office.
Pros and Cons
The event did not draw a large crowd. About twenty island residents came to meet with the elected officials of Action-Équilibre. All were already convinced that rebuilding the hospital in Gustavia rather than in Saint-Jean is a bad idea. “Saint-Jean is the common-sense solution,” said Marie-Hélène Bernier, first vice-president of the territorial council, in her opening remarks. During a comprehensive comparative presentation of the pros and cons of the two sites, the elected official listed the arguments in favor of Saint-Jean: immediate land availability, flat terrain, proximity to the airport and the fire station, validation by studies conducted by AP-HP (Assistance publique – Hôpitaux de Paris), potential for expansion, and better accessibility for the public… Conversely, the arguments against rebuilding in Gustavia raised during the meeting are as follows: higher costs (site decontamination, blue rock demolition work…), consequences of construction truck traffic during the work, disrupted access to the hospital, disturbances for patients, healthcare workers, and local residents…
While the constraints associated with construction in Saint-Jean were not overlooked (a site requiring complete development, including utilities; anticipated land-use pressure in Saint-Jean; the need to plan a transition between the old and new hospitals, etc.), no arguments in favor of a construction site in Gustavia were put forward—neither by elected officials nor by the audience.
In any case, after waiting more than three months for the President of the Collectivité to place their request for a public consultation on the Territorial Council’s agenda (rejected by a vote of ten to nine on March 12), the elected officials of Action-Équilibre hope to collect enough signatures to force Xavier Lédée to reconsider his position. A scenario that is difficult to imagine, even though the Organic Law stipulates that with enough signatures (5% of registered voters), the issue raised must be presented to the territorial council.
To sign the petition, interested voters can find it at the GTA garage in Saint-Jean, at the Papeterie Générale in Saint-Jean (Centre Neptune), at the Raymond Lédée garage in Grand Fond, at the Corossol grocery store, or by contacting the elected officials of the Action-Équilibre group (Marie-Hélène Bernier, Bettina Cointre, Maxime Desouches, David Blanchard, Pascale Minarro, Dimitri Lédée, Jonas Brin, Cécile Tessier).
