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Chang Tours Properties Earmarked for Housing in the West

April 7, 2008

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Several parcels of land in western Jamaica, which should become available for housing construction soon, were toured by Minister of Water and Housing, Dr. Horace Chang on April 4.
The sites include Green Mount and Hague in Trelawny; Rhyne Park, Salt Spring, Glendevon and Montego Hills in St. James; and Haughton in Green Island, Hanover. The Green Mount lands in Trelawny could be used to relocate the informal settlers on the Kettering property in that area, while the Hague property could also be used to relocate informal settlers from Dump in Falmouth, a community behind the market, so as to facilitate the major development plan for the town of Falmouth.
In St. James, 100 acres of land in the Rhyne Park area of Rose Hall are being donated by Michelle Rollins, for housing construction for persons who work on any of the developments in the Rose Hall area.
Dr. Chang pointed out that he would also be visiting an informal settlement in Green Island, Hanover, called Haughton, where government has acquired some 50 acres of land. The Minister pointed out that work at Rhyne Park should begin this year.
“Rose Hall Development has been not only generous but very co-operative, and we are going to work with them. We think it may provide a model for future developments of this sort where you have major developments and there is land that we can put workers on. The base is to provide infrastructure and security of tenure,” the Minister said. “This is being pursued as a priority because of the dramatic expansion in the tourism sector in this area, and the demand for worker housing. What we would like to do is to offer affordable housing to the hotel worker, and to stop the expansion of squatting and informal settlements,” Dr. Chang said.
The Minister said he was convinced that if persons are offered quality shelter, there would be less social and other problems.
The touring party included representatives from several divisions in the ministry, including Land Administration, responsible for land acquisition and disposal; the Technical Services Division; the National Housing Development Corporation (NHDC); and members of the Montego Bay office.

Last Updated: April 7, 2008

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