Hospital site decision on track

The group driving the rebuilding of Dunedin Hospital remains on track to advise Health Minister David Clark of its preferred site by the end of next month.

The local advisory group — set up to assist the Southern Partnership Group in making that decision — met yesterday.

SPG chairman Pete Hodgson said the meeting was careful and comprehensive.

"This will be the biggest building in Dunedin’s central business area and we taking good care to ensure that it is well-sited," he said.

"We need to be mindful of ease of access, proximity to services, height, and so on.

"We need to take care to ensure that existing links with the university are preserved and enhanced [and] we need to think about traffic flows, land availability, and future growth.

"We need to build a hospital today that still makes good sense 50 years from now."

Mr Hodgson has previously said the new hospital will be built somewhere between the University of Otago and the Octagon.

The Ministry of Health has confirmed membership of the LAG. It is. —  Mr  Hodgson, Margaret Wilsher (SPG), Andrew Connolly (SPG), Stephen Willis (SPG), Richard Thomson (SPG), Dave Cull (Dunedin Mayor), David Benson-Pope (Dunedin city councillor), Sue Bidrose (DCC chief executive), Jim Harland (NZ Transport Agency), Tony Sizemore (NZTA), Tahu Potiki (Ngai Tahu), Donna Matahaere-Atiriki (Otakou runanga), Gretchen Robertson (Otago Regional Council), Sarah Gardner (ORC),  Adam Flowers (CCM architects), Chris Fleming (Southern District Health Board), Kathy Grant (SDHB), San Ting Gilmartin (SDHB),  Bryan Spinks (Proj-x Solutions), Michael Hundleby (Ministry of Health), John Hazeldine (MOH), Kieran Reilly (MOH), Emily Leopold (MOH).The next Southern Partnership Group meeting will be on February 27.

mike.houlahan@odt.co.nz