Restoration

The Ministry of Housing, Lands and Rural Development has announced plans to bring the high number of dilapidated buildings formerly occupied by state-owned entities back into use.

Minister in the Ministry of Housing, Lands and Rural Development and Member of Parliament for St John, Charles Griffith, made this announcement in the House of Assembly today as Parliament debated a resolution to sell the property formerly occupied by the Indian Ground Primary School in St Peter to the East Caribbean Conference of Seventh Day Adventists.

The Minister said the property was expected to bring in $400,000 in revenue, which would be used in the National Housing Corporation’s plans to repair wells at the 49 housing estates as well as to help finance the pit toilet eradication programme.

Griffith said: “My ministry has just completed an audit of all the abandoned Government buildings across the island, and according to the audit, there are 36 such buildings. We believe that this could provide a new stream of revenue for the National Housing Corporation (NHC), and we have already made some money from the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme and the Royal Commonwealth Society, who recently acquired two old Government properties.”

The Minister spoke of some of the properties he wanted to see pressed back into service.

“The Carnegie Building that formerly housed the Barbados Public Library is one we want to refurbish and put back into use, along with the former Commerce Building on Reef Road, the National Council on Science and Technology building can also be refurbished, Buildings No. 7 and No. 9 at the Garrison, the fish market at Skeete’s Bay, and another building on Philip Drive. The old St Joseph Hospital in St Peter is sitting on 20 acres of land, and if we can find someone interested in that building we can move that as well.” He also mentioned the Belle Plantation House and “Dalmoney” the former residence of the Chief Justice, which he said could bring in between $10,000 and $12,000 a month in rent, “funds badly needed by the NHC.”

On the subject of the wells repair programme, Griffith stated that there were some 850 wells on the NHC estates, and “We have started at Deacons Farm and Haynesville, and are starting in Pinelands this week. Technical problems have prevented that thus far, and we will also carry out surveying and electrical upgrades.”

The Housing Minister also announced plans to start work on 500 housing solutions for low-income earners by April next year. “The plan is to roll out 500 in the first instance, but we want to expand this, ideally to move from 500 to 5,000. Land space will be an issue, but we want to benefit everybody. Also, coming out of our recent consultation on building resilient housing, a committee was formed and what we are doing going forward is to ensure the housing stock in Barbados can withstand a category 4 hurricane. It will involve retrofitting and design change.

“We are moving towards roofs slanted at 30 degrees and up, which will ensure our houses can survive if we are hit with any type of hurricane. We also want to see overhangs which are six inches the most, since anything bigger can be considered hurricane bait.”

Opposition Leader Bishop Joseph Atherley questioned whether the “sudden urgency” in repairing the wells on the NHC housing estates came about as a result of the death of a 17-year-old boy in the Pine after he stepped on to a well in July this year.

He noted: “Out of respect for his family, I did not speak on that incident, but it is sad to know it would take a tragedy to goad the Government into urgency about addressing this situation on NHC estates in Barbados.”

Atherley continued: “When we are dealing with potential immediate threats to life and limb of people going about their ordinary business, we must attach urgency to our efforts, and ensure that contractors, whether big or small, do proper quality work that does not create problems down the road.”