Minister Defends Government's Housing Initiative Amidst Agricultural Land Use Criticism

The minister responsible for housing and lands, Dwight Sutherland has vigorously defended the government’s ambitious initiative to build 10 000 houses in a short time frame, despite mounting criticism over the use of prime agricultural land for some projects.

Sutherland said the programme was being guided by science and was in line with the amended Physical Development Plan.

He was responding to critics who condemned the government’s decision to convert 6.35 acres of land at the Bullen agricultural station in St James. The project will see the creation of a new residential development featuring 36 housing units, a children’s home, and an entrepreneurial centre.

Stressing that the project was not being done willy-nilly, he told the audience during the National Housing Corporation’s official launch of Solaris Court, at White Park Road, St Michael on Wednesday: “Don’t listen to the naysayers and the commentators about us taking up agricultural land; they have their jobs to do . . . Any good planner would tell you our lands are agricultural land. There is a Physical Development Plan that we follow and it was passed in the House of Parliament; anyone can pick it up and read it. The Physical Development Plan [was] led by Senior Minister Dr William Duguid and it [was developed using scientific methods]; when we take up land it is not done arbitrarily.

“Agriculture has its rightful place in this country; [it] is one of the key ministries. We don’t fight for space for land. Every single Cabinet paper that is prepared within the Ministry of Housing and Lands and Maintenance goes to [the Ministry of] Finance and [the Ministry of Agriculture] when it comes to the use of land; even if it is private land, it goes to the [Ministry of] Agriculture for comments. We sit around a table as a Cabinet and we address it, and if it is a no, yours truly, the prime minister will tell us it’s a ‘no’. We do it by science and we do it orderly and cordially.”

Over the past several months, residents and leading agricultural figures have publicly vented their concerns about arable land being repurposed for commercial and housing developments.

Chief Executive Officer of the Barbados Agricultural Society James Paul said there was a ‘worrying trend’ of large-scale landowners allowing their fertile land to run into bush and then applying for a change of use to the Planning and Development Department.

He was referring to a sign advertising 16.91 acres of land for sale and approved for commercial development at Constant Plantation in St George back in August.

In April, several residents in Bannatyne, Christ Church objected to the development of 12.2 acres of land at the historic Newton Plantation, which houses a slave burial ground, from being subdivided into a housing project of 58 lots. The Planning and Development Department rejected the proposal in August, stating that it conflicted with growth management policies in the approved Physical Development Plan 2023.

Sutherland acknowledged how expensive it was for the average Barbadian to own the proverbial ‘piece of the rock’, adding that through the ambitious 10 000-houses scheme, the government was capping the price of land, building materials, and labour.

He said it was the dream of every Bajan to own their own home, pointing out that housing solutions could also be used as a strategy to address the surge in criminal activity on a long-term basis.

Sutherland said the home and family were the first agents of socialisation and if there was not a proper foundation in which children could grow and develop, they could go down a negative path.

He said: “We believe the time has come that if you truly want to address crime, we have to do it through housing. Gone are the days when we built housing units without recognising that we need to put social workers in these facilities, policemen in these facilities, and public servants in these facilities. Why? These become mentors for these little children. So we eliminate a society of persons who you or some would want to call problematic.

“Some people turn to crime and some people turn to behaviour that is not socially acceptable because they have not been surrounded or given the opportunity to do something else that is wholesome. When you build housing units with social workers, policemen, public officials, and teachers, we are creating an equitable, just, and developed society where our young people can indeed flourish and become global citizens with Bajan roots. That is exactly what we are doing here; you know housing is a very powerful instrument . . . and we’re using it to impact the quality of life of people.” (SZB)