NIA CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (October 15, 2021)- – The Nevis Island Administration (NIA) continues its thrust to provide affordable housing for the people of Nevis with the imminent launch of a new housing development in Prospect, St. John’s Parish.

Deputy Premier Hon. Alexis Jeffers, Minister of Lands and Housing in the NIA, said the site in Prospect has already been cleared and is being prepared for the construction of homes.

During the most recent sitting of the Nevis Island Assembly the Minister gave an update on the development and several others the NIA have earmarked to begin in the near future.

“We are moving up to Prospect, east of Cherry Garden, we will start a new development there. It won’t be called Cherry Garden; it will have an original name. We expect to have just about 16 lots there, and the groundbreaking ceremony will take place on October 21 and then construction will start shortly after.

“In early November we’re going down to Rices and in the latter half of November we are going over to Cedar View in Maddens, where we will be having a groundbreaking ceremony there also,” he said.

Hon. Jeffers stressed the importance of homeownership as one of the single largest investments a person makes in their lifetime, and encouraged young men and women in Nevis to include owning a home in their future plans.

He assured that despite the demand for housing exceeding the government’s ability to supply, the NIA is seeking out other areas around the island where affordable homes can be constructed.

At his October 06 press conference Premier Hon. Mark Brantley praised the Housing Minister’s efforts at making home ownership a reality for many Nevisians.

“I’m quite proud of the housing revolution that we are seeing. I think that the Deputy Premier and Minister Responsible for Housing the Hon. Alexis Jeffers should be commended because he’s really done a phenomenal job in Housing, bearing in mind what we inherited at the Nevis Housing and Land Development Corporation and the lack of resources we found there when we got into office.

“I think all in all we have quietly been revolutionizing housing here and I would want to commend the Deputy Premier and his team at Nevis Housing and all that they’ve done in seeking to provide affordable housing for our people. We are trying to do our very best to facilitate and assist in terms of homes, but I am quite pleased with the numbers, that we are building homes, and we’re building them all across the island of Nevis,” he remarked.

Since 2017 the Concerned Citizens Movement-led administration has constructed 77 homes and is on target to build an additional 111.

These include 21 at Craddock Road, 14 at Hamilton Estate, 8 at University Heights, 4 at Nisbett Estate, 9 in Rices Village, 16 at the Cherry Garden Extension, 31 homes in Phase Three of the Cedar View development and several private homes for land owners.