Construction hopes of hundreds of homes - deputy

The president of Guernsey's new housing committee wants to get spades in the ground and hundreds of homes under construction within his first year.

The former Guernsey Housing Association CEO, Deputy Steve Williams, was elected as the president of the Committee for Housing.

Speaking to BBC Radio Guernsey, Williams said he was keen to make progress on a number of projects, including Leale's Yard.

The deputy did not rule out penalising owners of derelict buildings who were reluctant to build. He added "it's sad to see derelict properties doing nothing when there are people desperate for accommodation".

In his election speech, the deputy talked about potentially being more coercive towards landowners who were reluctant to develop on their area which had been zoned for housing by using a punitive derelict land tax.

He said: "There are a number of sites, in particular some derelict hotels... that have been stood around empty, doing nothing.

"But if they [owners] are reluctant to do that even when we are trying to offer them help then maybe we'll have to be a bit more coercive in trying to force them into getting something done with that site and get it back into the market."

Williams said there was "a balancing act" with planning and added "we're trying to produce homes as well as preserving the beauty of the island".

The deputy said he would like to have a "deal concluded with Leale's Yard and the work progressing on that".

"I would like to see at least several hundred homes under construction. We need to see construction on the go by a year's time," he added.

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