Housing ministry ‘exploring emergency housing’

Government is exploring options to build emergency temporary housing for fire victims while seeking to meet the high demand for housing, Minister of Housing Dr William Duguid said Tuesday.

As he broke ground at Coombs House, Whitepark Road, St Michael, for the building of five quad rental units, Dr Duguid stressed that fire victims would not be allowed to permanently stay in the emergency houses that will be built.

He said: “The National Housing Corporation (NHC) would have done emergency housing for people who are fire victims and they move in and then they don’t move out. So this would not be as comfortable as these units would be, but we are now investigating the opportunities and spaces to be able to put down some emergency houses as well.”

The housing minister said the five quads will result in a total of 20 “cost-efficient” two-bedroom, single-bathroom, 520-square-feet rental units, which will each house a family of three.

The project has also been designed to accommodate an active green space.

Dr Duguid said the project will cost Government $550,000 per quad and should be completed in nine to ten months.

“And let’s be honest, there will always be people who cannot afford to purchase and will have to rent,” Dr Duguid said. “And the National Housing Corporation has not built rental units for some time and now we are looking to get back into the rental unit construction so that we can provide more rental units for people who are looking to get those. We have decided this is the best spot. We have had it approved and we are looking forward to starting this in a matter of days.”

Member of Parliament for The City Lt Col Jeffrey Bostic said when he became MP, he saw the potential to place a housing development at Coombs. Bostic noted that there are few spaces in The City where housing projects can be developed at this time even though housing for City residents remains high on the priority list.

“So this for me then is a dream come through that some people would be able to get some rental units and we will just continue to see where else we can find housing within The City housing spaces,” Lt Col Bostic said.

Resident Planner Raymond Lorde said the NHC has built quad rental units in other parts of the island, with plans to build more in the coming future in light of a significant need for quality houses in Barbados.

Lorde said: “There is a sizable list of persons, it goes into the hundreds and the thousands of people who have applied for housing in Barbados. The good thing in Barbados is that in some cases they are not necessarily living on the streets as the Barbados society for the homeless [Barbados Alliance to End Homelessness] has done a lot of work in that respect.”

Lorde indicated that it was yet to be determined whether the COVID-19 pandemic has further contributed to an increase in the number of Barbadians looking to Government for housing solutions.  (AH)