Gov’t to Pilot Relocation Programme for At-Risk Gully Bank Residents Across Kingston

The Government will pilot a programme across Kingston to help residents living along gully banks relocate to safer locations, particularly those vulnerable to severe weather events, with assistance to be provided to facilitate their relocation.

Prime Minister, Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, said the initiative will involve reclaiming gullies and reserving lands extending up to 20 feet from the gully banks, with the National Works Agency (NWA) tasked with carrying out the process.

“We may have to build new facilities for them (residents) or give them grants so that they can find other facilities,” he said.

The Prime Minister was speaking during the official ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Kingston Two (K2) Apartments at Bournemouth Gardens in Kingston on Wednesday (October 21).

Dr. Holness acknowledged that, despite the potential dangers associated with their locations, residents have established homes and communities adjacent to gullies.

“These communities are entrenched to the point where, I toured [one] recently and saw a three-storey house of solid concrete that, in any other place, you could consider it a mansion… because people are making their lives there,” he said.

The Prime Minister cautioned, however, that heavy rainfall can compromise drainage infrastructure, placing residents at risk of potentially catastrophic weather events.

He noted concerns about relocation, pointing out that previous discussions have been hampered by deep mistrust among residents regarding whether the Government would honour its commitments to them.

Dr. Holness emphasised that the process must be guided by dialogue and ensure that affected persons are not left worse off.

To illustrate how the process can work, he cited a resettlement initiative involving 32 households in St. Paul’s Lane in his constituency, St. Andrew West Central.

“I have demonstrated to the people there how the Government can effectively do a relocation or resettlement exercise… and the people there are quite comfortable,” he said.

Prime Minister Holness maintained that the Government must address the risks associated with settlements along gully banks.

“We cannot continue this unsafe practice of persons living on the gully banks… that must come to an end,” he said.
Additionally, Dr. Holness said that a broader initiative will be launched to support the lawful and orderly settlement of communities that are currently irregularly occupied, with further details to be announced.