Government is working on a plan to use the 25 000-plus derelict properties and empty lots across the island to build more housing for Barbadians.Minister of Housing, Lands and Maintenance Dwight Sutherland, who made the disclosure on Wednesday, said research had confirmed that there are more than 15 000 derelict properties and 10 000 vacant lots in Barbados.And he said demolition of derelict buildings has already begun.“It is Government’s [plan] to place houses on most of these available lands as a result of the removal of derelict properties…,” Sutherland told the media following a tour of Ridge Meadows, Christ Church where 565 houses are being built by B.J Investments Limited.
A private-public partnership is needed to fulfill Government’s ambitious goal of building 10 000 houses over the next five years.Minister of Housing, Lands and Maintenance Dwight Sutherland said this was why the Mia Mottley-led administration has been creating an enabling environment for the private sector to build more than half those houses.Speaking to the media following Wednesday’s tour of Ridge Meadows in Christ Church where B.J Investments Limited has been providing homeownership opportunities for 565 Barbados families, Sutherland stressed that Government was on a mission with its housing revolution.Noting that 1 400 houses will be built by the end of the financial year through the private-public partnerships, the Minister explained that in addition to the houses at Ridge Meadows, B.J Investments was designing another 400-unit affordable income community at Lancaster, St James.