By Claudia Gardner, Gleaner WriterWESTERN BUREAU:
DESPITE THE severe shortage of housing solutions in Hanover, the National Housing Trust (NHT) said it has no official plan in place to construct any new housing schemes in that parish.
In an interview with The Gleaner last week, Manager of National Housing Trust Lucea branch, Alwyn Haynes, said that at present, 6,000 persons or just under 10 per cent of Hanover's population require housing solutions, but only 1,800 met the NHT's requirements. "Not all these people are considered to be in the effective demand group, as in order to be in that particular group, they have to be NHT qualified contributors," Mr. Haynes stated. "The last formal survey that we did late 2002 showed an effective demand of 1,800; that is, people who have never yet owned a home and are qualified contributors to NHT."
Since its inception, the NHT has only built three housing schemes in Hanover, namely, the Orchard Scheme, in Hopewell; Esher Housing Scheme, in Lucea; and the Orange Bay Housing Scheme, near Negril. The last of three schemes, the Orange Bay scheme, had its fourth and final phases completed in 1995.
Mr. Haynes said that while the NHT was willing to enter into joint ventures with companies which were themselves willing to take on housing developments within the parish, the militating factor was the low-income level of most Hanoverians in the effective demand group.
"The survey showed that the income level of the majority of Hanoverians is very low. The majority of workers fall below the $4,500 per week income bracket. The fact is, that an organisation does not want to build houses, and then it ends up that most people cannot afford it. If the NHT were to acquire land and build in areas such as Point Estate and Industry Cove, where people propose that they would like to live, it is likely that the people may not be able to afford it as the cost may be relatively high," said Haynes. "The other factor is that the NHT loan may not be enough and persons may have to seek additional loans from other agencies."
Mr. Haynes said that he believes that if significant investment comes to the parish, which would raised the income level of Hanoverians, most of the people would be in a better position to afford housing. He said that in the meantime, the Trust would continues to offer its other housing services such as Build On Own Land and Open Market Loans to Hanoverians.
