Prime Minister David Thompson (second from left), Minister of Housing, Michael Lashley and Acting General Manager of the National Housing Corporation, Lanette Napoleon-Young, touring the construction of homes underway at Marchfield, St. Philip.
Some 1900 housing solutions are estimated for Bushy Park, St. Philip, as government continues its Housing Every Last Person (HELP) programme under the Ministry of Housing and Lands.
??This was revealed by Prime Minister David Thompson, after he, along with Ministers Michael Lashley, Dr. David Estwick, John Boyce and Haynesley Benn; Member of Parliament, Adriel Brathwaite, and several other government officials, toured a number of infrastructural projects in St. Philip on Wednesday.
According to the Prime Minister, Bushy Park was acquired because it was "a large area of land", adding that various kinds of options which could be accommodated by such an area would therefore be examined. He further explained that with land prices increasing, and a critical need for housing and for new tourism products, Barbados could not afford "to have land stand idly by".
Mr. Thompson also disclosed that the area between Kendal Hill roundabout onto Six Roads through St. Patrick’s, Yorkshire, and its environs "would be critical areas for undertaking development to meet important housing needs".?? ????
Asked about the possibility of securing a partner for the Bushy Park project, the Prime Minister opined that there could be no better partner in a joint venture than government.
"One assumes that government knows what the people want and need, and will deliver and, when you have government as a partner, the process should theoretically move a lot faster and we want to see more joint venture arrangements," he reasoned.
Prime Minister Thompson also stressed that government wanted to see the current motor sporting facility at Bushy Park develop and would therefore give its support in that regard.
"We believe there are also opportunities for some other kinds of recreational facilities near to that, that we think are important in terms of broadening the attractions and the economic activities that take place in our country," he added.
In addition to Bushy Park, the Prime Minister also examined road construction and other areas of development during the tour.