Our sound policies have brought both economic stability and an improved quality of life to all Gibraltarians.
Gibraltar is safer, politically, internationally, socially and economically than ever before. The GSD will continue to meet the challenges that have afforded us the success that we enjoy today.
Successful delivery of more housing is about all of QUANTITY, TYPE and QUALITY and the GSD Government’s housing policy has been able to deliver all three. Under previous GSLP Government there was an abandonment of quality leading to huge problems for home buyers, and also an abandonment of building of rental homes for those in our society who simply cannot afford any form of home ownership. No Government has ever built more or better Quality homes.
Nor is our housing policy limited to providing new houses. Our policy has also focused on improving living conditions in old Government estates and fixing the many very serious problems in the previous government’s home ownership estates.
• Fixing the serious defects in the previous government’s home ownership estates
• Mid Harbours; the first Government Rental Estate since 1970
• Refurbishment and beautification of existing Government rental housing estates
• Installing lifts in existing government rental housing estates
• Helping previous home ownership estates with soft loans for maintenance etc
• Providing a better home repair and maintenance service to Government tenants
• Government tenant “right to buy scheme”
• Reform of Landlord and Tenant Act for the private sector, new public housing legislation and anti social behaviour legislation
• Refurbishment of old upper town properties and their sale as affordable homes eg Calpe Barracks, Flat Bastion Road and Castle Street schemes
• Introduction of residents only parking schemes
• Better estates cleaning arrangements
• Huge reduction in housing waiting lists, reduction of eligibility age to 18 and pre list time to just 1 year
Our policy is to build quality affordable homes to provide for the housing needs of those that can afford to buy, supported, to the extent necessary by a government co ownership scheme. In this way the government can stretch its resources to build a greater number of homes.
The GSD Government has built 800 affordable home ownership flats supported by a government co ownership scheme, and few would deny that they have been of a very high quality equivalent to or even better than much more expensive privately developed properties:
• Waterport Terraces
• Cumberland Terraces
• Bayview House
• Nelson’s View
In order to ensure that the GSD Government’s generation of home buyers would not suffer the misery endured by so very many of the GSLP Government’s generation of home buyers, our policy is for the Government itself to act as developer and to closely supervise construction. The difference is there for all to see!
Our policy is to continue to build more quality affordable home ownership housing. Our next project will be another attractive, high quality scheme in North Front Road (ex Devil’s Tower Road) on the site of the present Workers Hostel, which will itself be rebuilt on another site.
The GSD housing policy recognises that many people in our society cannot afford home ownership and that their housing needs can only therefore be addressed through the provision of more rental housing. No new rental housing estate had been built or provided since 1970! The GSD is proud to have:
• Secured Edinburgh House from the MOD, refurbished it and provided it as a government rental housing estate (providing 207 quality rental homes)
• Built, to very high standards, the new Mid Harbour Rental Estate on a prime waterfront site (providing 492 quality, modern rental homes) which successfully demonstrates that a Government rental housing estate can enjoy the same standards and living environment as other housing, and in the process has opened a new era of higher quality and standard of government rental housing for the future.
• Built, also to very high standards Bishop Canilla House and Albert Risso House, which together provide 230 quality rental flats for our elderly citizens in a safe and secure living environment. For a more detailed explanation of the GSD’s specific housing policy for the elderly go the Elderly Care policy section.
• Modern hostel for women at Lopez Ramp
The provision of additional housing targeted at those with specific and special needs will continue. A “half way” house for men is currently under construction and a new hostel for men will also start to be built soon. There will also be more housing for the elderly.
Housing policy also includes improving the living conditions and service offered to tenants of existing Government housing and the GSD Government has taken its general policy of “root and branch” public sector and service quality reform to the heart of public housing administration. Policies have included:
• Anti social behaviour legislation
• New public housing legislation with tenant right of appeal
• New, improved cleaning arrangements for housing estates
• Lift installation programme
• “Right to Buy” scheme
• Introduction of residents only Parking schemes
• Children’s playgrounds
Foremost amongst the GSD housing policy initiatives is tackling the historic and indeed folkloric problems of the Buildings and Works Department, of which Government housing tenants were the victims through long waiting times for maintenance and repair works and endemic inefficiency.
A problem that people thought was unfixable has been tackled head on in the “root and branch” way that typifies the GSD’s approach to reform. The Department has been closed down and its workforce and working model totally restructured. The old Ragged Staff depot, symbolic of past attitudes, has been demolished and a new, modern depot provided at Waterport in which staff can be properly motivated to deliver a quality service.
Most importantly for tenants, the quality of the service will be transformed. Already the increased output of jobs done is noticeable. With effect from now, this year tenants will wait no more than THREE MONTHS for work to be done. Government will be free to use private contractors to guarantee this service level.
In short, a universally mocked, but important public service has been totally reformed and renewed for the future to the benefit of both users (tenants) and staff!
In addition to fixing problems in private home ownership estates like Brympton, Harbour Views, Vineyards, Montagu Gardens and Montagu Crescent, and Sir William Jackson Grove, the GSD housing policy has included a £40 million expenditure programme to refurbish and beautify existing Government estates, including Laguna Estate (new sheds – in progress, and lifts –about to start), Varyl Begg (including lifts, new roofs and all blocks painted externally. General landscaping and internal block decor – about to start); and many Government rental buildings around Gibraltar which had not been painted for decades!
In the private sector, the GSD Government has reformed the Landlord and Tenants Act in the interests of both landlords and tenants, and has extended rent relief to private sector tenants.
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