Twelve families in the Jacob Hill Settlement in Wallerfield received keys to starter-home units on Sunday.
Land Settlement Agency chairman Wayne Innis said nine of the 12 keys for the units in the development were given to women.
He was speaking at the key-distribution ceremony. He said the Jacob Hill site is one of the designated settlement areas under the LSA’s listing.
“In 2018, the LSA surveyed the area and identified 35 structures on the eastern portion of the site. From the survey results, it was determined that these occupants were living in poor conditions and without basic amenities such as pipe-borne water, electricity, and sanitation facilities.
“Consequently, the LSA began infrastructural development work to improve living conditions but it was determined that in order to do this properly, 12 households had to be relocated. Selection of these households for a starter home was done through a random draw. The two-bedroom, one bathroom, units were constructed through the LSA’s Housing and Village Improvement Programme (HVIP) model at an estimated cost of $142,000.”
Minister in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development Adrian Leonce said the LSA was doing tremendous work as the statutory agency in charge of the regularisation of squatting. He commended the staff at the agency.
[caption id="attachment_978351" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Minister of Youth Development and National Service Foster Cummings, Tunapuna Piarco Regional Corporation chairman Kwasi Robinson, Minister in the Ministry of Housing Adrian Leonce, Housing Minister Camille Robinson-Regis, LSA chairman Wayne Innis, LSA CEO Hazar Hosein with the12 receipients of starter homes at Jacob Hill Settlement, Wallerfield on Sunday. - ROGER JACOB[/caption]
“It brings much-needed relief to the poorest and most vulnerable people in the society. The LSA is performing upgrades on 14 sites, yielding close to 4,000 lots. They’re working to secure pre-construction statutory approvals on ten sites yielding 2,148 lots. They’re conducting infrastructural work on 12 sites, yielding 1,263 lots, and doing the land use planning on 13 sites.
“Our innovative HVIP, implemented through the LSA, continues to improve infrastructure and poor-quality housing in targeted villages, including Matura, Valencia, Cumuto, Talparo, and now here in Wallerfield.”
Leonce said the allocation for the project had been increased in the 2023 budget.
La Horquetta/Talparo MP Foster Cummings said when he did his initial walkabout in the community, it burned his heart to see the conditions people were living in. He thanked his ministerial colleagues and the LSA for helping the recipients receive their starter homes.
“The LSA came in and assessed the situation and that entire community was approved by Cabinet to receive this type of development. The first phase is that we have built these houses to relocate those who have to come to this location, the second phase is that those who have to remain at that location will receive a housing unit like this courtesy of t
