Legal fix clears way for 20 new homes in Christ Church

The government has cleared a legal obstacle delaying the completion of 20 new low-income homes in Christ Church, after Parliament corrected an error in a 2022 resolution that omitted the National Housing Corporation as the vesting authority.

The development at Sargeant’s Village had stalled after a 2022 parliamentary resolution approving the vesting of land for housing mistakenly omitted the National Housing Corporation (NHC) as the vesting entity.

Minister of Housing, Lands and Maintenance, Christopher Gibbs, on Tuesday introduced a House of Assembly motion to rescind Resolution No. 17 of 2022 and approve an amended resolution vesting two parcels of land, measuring 7 021 square metres, in the NHC.

The two adjoining lots, owned by Marjorie Payne and Jermaine Atkins, were approved by Cabinet for housing in May 2021. They were surveyed, certified and formally acquired by the state in December 2021.

Gibbs told Parliament that when the resolution was published in August 2022, errors were later discovered.

He said: “After publication, errors were detected. I am certainly not ashamed to come to this House to admit that the National Housing Corporation was inadvertently omitted as a vesting entity.”

The minister added that the resolution also incorrectly described the land as still privately owned.

“It described the parcels as still belonging to private individuals despite the state’s prior acquisition in December 2021. These errors create unavoidable uncertainty and must be corrected to ensure the NHC can proceed without legal ambiguity.”

He explained that Cabinet agreed on 20 March 2025 to rescind the earlier decision and bring a corrected resolution, which has since been certified by the Attorney General.

With the legal issue addressed, Gibbs said the Sargeant’s Village development is now nearing completion.

He said: “This particular site has eight duplex units at the finishing stage, with provision for four single detached units, accommodating 20 low-income families. With everything going according to plan, I am enthusiastic about this development being handed over to Barbadians in the south at the end of January.”

Gibbs said the project targets Barbadians earning modest incomes who have struggled to access home ownership.

“When we talk about low-income housing, we’re talking about people looking for homes below $150 000 or $200 000, gas station attendants and others frustrated by the process,” he said.

He also pointed to additional developments, including 20 housing units at Billings, St James, expected to be ready later this month.

But Leader of the Opposition Ralph Thorne questioned how the omission of the NHC occurred and accused the government of mismanagement.

“We, the people of Barbados, want to know who was the party whose name was inserted on the original resolution,” Thorne said, adding that the error should have been corrected sooner.