A high court judge has dismissed claims that Herts Valleys Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) was unlawful in its decision-making process around the redevelopment of hospital buildings in west Hertfordshire.
In the summer of 2019 a judicial review claim was submitted by a Hemel Hempstead resident on behalf of a group of campaigners.
The claimant alleged that decisions the CCG made in that year to agree a shortlist of sites – and then the preferred option – for the redevelopment of hospital buildings in west Hertfordshire were unlawful. The basis for claiming that the decisions were unlawful was the lack of formal public consultation.
The conclusion reached by the judge, following a high court hearing at the end of October, is that both of the CCG’s decisions were lawful, and the judge has dismissed the claim.
The judge’s ruling states that Herts Valleys CCG fulfilled their legal duty to involve the public and a formal consultation was not required. They were therefore acting perfectly legally in the decisions we took.
Colleagues at West Hertfordshire NHS Hospitals Trust will press on with the work they have been doing, with full support from the CCG, to develop proposals as outlined to the boards in October, and discussed with local people throughout this period.
Herts Valleys CCG will be doing more in the coming months, building on the extensive engagement already undertaken, to involve local residents in working up the detail for our next submission to regulators and government.
The CCG said they look forward very much to bringing those plans to fruition – in new hospital buildings on the current Watford site and with significant investment on the St Albans and Hemel Hempstead sites.
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