Govt hands over 11 homes, announces deal for 500 more

Ten families in Clifden, St Philip, are now proud homeowners following the official opening of the Clifden Housing Development on Saturday. At the same time, plans have been unveiled for hundreds more homes to be constructed across Barbados.

Speaking at the ceremony, Minister of Housing, Lands and Maintenance Dwight Sutherland announced that the government has signed a contract with a company to produce 500 additional hardwood houses.

This includes the first 89 homes earmarked for St Philip North, opposite Dodds Prison, and others slated for Ebenezer, Lower Burney (St Michael), Bright Hall (St Lucy), and Ginger Works (St Joseph).

Minister Dwight Sutherland speaking during the handover ceremony.

“This signing is a major step in fast-tracking our housing programme,” said Sutherland. “We cannot continue to give people hope and then not deliver — not after 15, 20 years in some cases. With this contract and our phased approach, we will begin to meet that demand head-on.”

In particular, he outlined that 100 homes will be built in Lower Burney, 150 in Bright Hall, and between 75 and 80 in Ginger Works.

To accelerate construction and avoid delays due to infrastructural works, he said, the housing developments will proceed in phases.

“At Lower Burney, a 40-acre site, we’ll start phase one… The road designs are complete, and we expect to begin that work within three months,” Sutherland disclosed.

The minister said the developments were not only about providing shelter but also about tackling deeper social issues such as crime and intergenerational poverty. The Lower Burney project, he noted, was designed specifically to address long-standing concerns in the Pine community.

Also addressing the ceremony was General Manager of the National Housing Corporation (NHC), Ian Gill, who spoke about the corporation’s efforts to modernise and digitise its operations.

He revealed that the NHC’s new website, currently in its final testing phase, will be launched within two weeks, allowing the public to submit housing applications online.

Gill said digitising records and streamlining processes was key to improving public access and transparency.

“This will allow for a more equitable way of interacting with the public,” he noted. “It is a formidable task, but we must accomplish it for the well-being of those who reach out to us daily.”

He urged NHC staff to remain committed to their role in delivering on the government’s housing mandate.

“To put it mildly, we must come to work each day with a sense of duty to honestly carry out the business of government,” Gill said.

The government has pledged to deliver 10,000 housing units within five years, a promise made in 2022 to address the growing demand for affordable accommodation. (BT)