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<span style="font-weight: bold">News Source: OTGNR - </span>
<span style="font-weight: bold"> Confirmed : Squatting - ' a clear and present danger ' ( Gleaner )...</span>
WESTERN BUREAU: WITH THE number of informal settlements along the North Coast on the increase, the Government has vowed to arrest the problem in short order.Housing Minister Dr Horace Chang says squatting is now "a clear and present danger" in Trelawny, which is brimming with major developments, presenting unlimited economic opportunities to all, including informal settlers who are heading to the area in droves.Chang, who was speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony for a multibillion-dollar housing and education complex in Trelawny last Wednesday, says the north coast is like a big marketplace for squatters and the situation won't be allowed to continue."While we have always seen the urge to squat around Falmouth, and I must confess, recognised it months ago, I recognise that we cannot reverse the entire process, but we intend to arrest the problem," the minister says.The Government has a responsibility to prevent squatting from escalating and intends to do so, he says. "Some squatting settlements will be regularised, but we will have no choice but to demolish others," the housing minister warns.prepared for opposition"The Government will be prepared for opposition but it is a task that has to be undertaken," Chang points out.He expresses the view that the involvement of private developers in providing affordable housing solutions such as those being created at Holland Estate, will help in curbing the problem.Investors Zuccherina Develop-ments and Kneecaps Construction and Project Management are pumping $8 billion into the development of mullet-level housing project, tagged 'Jamaica's first university town'.The developers, James and Alex Gore and Kirk Kennedy, have bought 192 acres of lands, known as Holland Estates, near the William Knibb Memorial High School in Martha Brae. The lands were owned by the Muschette family."We are proposing 1,385 habitable units varying in size from duplex studios to two- and three-bedroom detached units and this is expected to run for about six years," said Kennedy.The target market is primarily the low- to middle-income earning brackets, namely hotel workers and other tourist-related service workers in existing and planned hotels in the region."As such, the duplex studio units will be priced to ensure affordability for single individuals accessing the National Housing Trust (NHT) fund and the two- and three-bedroom units will be priced in accordance with NHT's pricing guidelines," said the developer.Kennedy added that the project will cater to the low and middle-income families by giving them starter unit options with an opportunity to expand incrementally.The development will be built in four distinct phases. Phase I will consist of 346 duplex studio units, 54 two-bedroom units and 46 three-bedroom units for a total of 446 units and the project will be modelled off the university town concept used in a number of towns and cities around the world.
<span style="font-weight: bold"> Confirmed : Squatting - ' a clear and present danger ' ( Gleaner )...</span>
WESTERN BUREAU: WITH THE number of informal settlements along the North Coast on the increase, the Government has vowed to arrest the problem in short order.Housing Minister Dr Horace Chang says squatting is now "a clear and present danger" in Trelawny, which is brimming with major developments, presenting unlimited economic opportunities to all, including informal settlers who are heading to the area in droves.Chang, who was speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony for a multibillion-dollar housing and education complex in Trelawny last Wednesday, says the north coast is like a big marketplace for squatters and the situation won't be allowed to continue."While we have always seen the urge to squat around Falmouth, and I must confess, recognised it months ago, I recognise that we cannot reverse the entire process, but we intend to arrest the problem," the minister says.The Government has a responsibility to prevent squatting from escalating and intends to do so, he says. "Some squatting settlements will be regularised, but we will have no choice but to demolish others," the housing minister warns.prepared for opposition"The Government will be prepared for opposition but it is a task that has to be undertaken," Chang points out.He expresses the view that the involvement of private developers in providing affordable housing solutions such as those being created at Holland Estate, will help in curbing the problem.Investors Zuccherina Develop-ments and Kneecaps Construction and Project Management are pumping $8 billion into the development of mullet-level housing project, tagged 'Jamaica's first university town'.The developers, James and Alex Gore and Kirk Kennedy, have bought 192 acres of lands, known as Holland Estates, near the William Knibb Memorial High School in Martha Brae. The lands were owned by the Muschette family."We are proposing 1,385 habitable units varying in size from duplex studios to two- and three-bedroom detached units and this is expected to run for about six years," said Kennedy.The target market is primarily the low- to middle-income earning brackets, namely hotel workers and other tourist-related service workers in existing and planned hotels in the region."As such, the duplex studio units will be priced to ensure affordability for single individuals accessing the National Housing Trust (NHT) fund and the two- and three-bedroom units will be priced in accordance with NHT's pricing guidelines," said the developer.Kennedy added that the project will cater to the low and middle-income families by giving them starter unit options with an opportunity to expand incrementally.The development will be built in four distinct phases. Phase I will consist of 346 duplex studio units, 54 two-bedroom units and 46 three-bedroom units for a total of 446 units and the project will be modelled off the university town concept used in a number of towns and cities around the world.