At the meeting, from left: Chairman, Neighbourhood Democratic Council, Grove/Diamond, Omar Khan; Permanent Secretary, Minister of Housing and Water, Emile McGarrell; Minister of Housing and Water Irfaan Ali; Chief Executive Officer, Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA), Myrna Pitt;  Land Development and Administrative Manager, Denise King-Tudor; and Planning Officer, CH&PA Planning Division, Germaine Stuart.

A further 200 house lots will be developed in the Diamond-Grove housing scheme, East Bank Demerara, as the Ministry of Housing and Water continues its efforts to consolidate infrastructure and satisfy the increase in demand for house lots.

The reserves in Sections ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’ Diamond and Section ‘C’ Grove will be converted into house lots.

Housing and Water Minister Irfaan Ali, along with senior officials and technical staff from his Ministry, met with the Diamond community Monday to discuss and outline the development plan for the areas.

The consultation sought to address the needs and garner the community’s inputs.

Minister Ali said the Diamond housing scheme is regarded as one of CH&PA’s largest emerging urban centres, and the expansion of services points to the fact that the value of property in Diamond is increasing tremendously.

He noted that there are some challenges which hinder the development of services in the area and as a community, and government measures must be put in place to mitigate and change the look of Diamond.

The challenges include unutilised play fields and lands that are earmarked for facilities that are not developed, congestion of traffic and vending at the scheme’s entrance.

“The plan is to rationalise the services in the area, that is the open space, the play fields and other public facilities. What we have done is strategically resurvey the area and we have identified a number of play fields that would be developed by CH&PA and handed over to the community and the NDC,” Minister Ali said.

Residents viewing the cadastral plan for Block X Diamond

He stated that during the development of the scheme, the plan had entailed an occupancy rate of 90 percent. However, since a number of persons did not occupy their lots, the Ministry had to repossess them.

People not occupying land within the given time-frame has resulted in the disfigurement of the environment and infrastructure with the growth of weeds and blocked drains and the waste of resources, he said.

The Minister further added that approximately $15M has been spent for maintenance work in the housing scheme and more resources will have to be provided.

“We can provide infrastructure; but if persons are not constructing, then where are we going?” Minister Ali asked.

Macro Plan for Diamond
On July 10, the Minister and other government officials had met with private stakeholders to discuss a $500M plan to change the landscape of the housing scheme.

The plan includes the establishment of a paved corridor for traffic safety and pedestrian crossing, the establishment of a pedestrian walkway along the main highway, with bus shed, and the construction of a tarmac facility for vending and parking of taxis.

Design criteria will be established for vendors’ stalls to ensure that the area is nicely laid out, he said.

A survey, the Minister said, will also be conducted for a new entry and exit to the scheme which will cost in excess of $500M.

Plans are also in the pipeline to establish a multi-purpose tarmac for sporting activities, including basketball, volleyball, a grass track and a multi-purpose centre for Diamond/Grove that will serve the community’s educational needs.

“We are going to start work to convert some of the open spaces into housing development…the resources that we raise will be spent back…this is the development we have and we are moving towards that,” Minister Ali assured.

The Diamond Housing Scheme is one of the fastest growing and largest housing areas in the country, with a population of about 40, 000 people. Over the years, the administration has invested huge sums to develop the scheme and provide basic social amenities. (GINA)