Part of the much-delayed Southside lottery housing project should be ready in a year – but the economic downturn has forced other major initiatives onto the backburner.

That was the mixed news shared by Housing Minister David Burch last night during a meeting with lottery winners who've been waiting more than three years for their affordable homes in Harbour View to materialise.

Senator Burch banned the press from attending the meeting. However, what he described in an interview afterwards as "a financial freeze that's been placed on the Government" means only half of the Harbour View lottery plan has a completion date.

A total of 58 units will be ready in 368 days from today, with a contractor due to move in once work on the infrastructure is completed this month, he pledged. However, the remaining 48 units, together with plans for Pepper Hall Common in St. David's and Dockyard still have question marks over them due to lack of funding.

The lottery saga began in June 2005 when 98 names were drawn by Government for two, three and four bedroom homes starting at the affordable rate of $199,000. The families expected to be able to move in by April last year.

However, Bermuda Homes for People, which originally spearheaded the development, became insolvent in September 2005.

Commercial tenants on 12 acres of the 16-acre plot then protested and Bermuda Land Development Company (BLDC) which owned the land refused to sell the entire plot. Government then was only able to acquire four acres of land, severely depleting the number of houses they would be able to build.

After meeting the lottery winners last night, Sen. Burch told this newspaper: "What I shared with them was there's a number of projects that Government are not going to proceed with at this time because of the economic climate, but this one would."

He explained that a plan to have two contractors start at each end of the site had to be shelved due to a lack of cash, so now just one contractor will start building next month.

"I suspect all those people will be driving by Southside on November 1 to check there's still building going on," he said of the lottery winners.

He would not name the contractor, explaining that he's not told them yet. The Minister also insisted that the remaining 48 units will eventually be built, hopefully six months after the first batch is concluded.

"There's another option that the Housing Corporation is looking at that I shared with them (at the closed meeting) but I'm not prepared to share it with you," he said.

For now, the Ministry of Housing is checking which of the lottery winners still want one of the homes. "Of the 99 lottery winners and about 26 reserves, 15 dropped out for a variety of reasons. Some have moved away or are doing something different," explained Sen. Burch.

Giving a run-through of other projects in the pipeline, he said the Pepper Hall Commons plans for 59 transitional housing units – originally set for groundbreaking in the first quarter of this year –"is in to Planning but we will not begin that project in this fiscal year. Probably not the next."

In Dockyard, the original plan was to redevelop Victoria Row and Albert Row to add another 20 two-bedroom rental units. The West End Development Corporation was also due to start work on 25 one-bedroom units and 26 two-bedroom units at the North Basin. The Victualling Yard was earmarked for development of 16 one-bedroom units, 16 two-bedroom units, and 16 three bedroom units.

Sen. Burch said the Victoria and Albert Row project will be addressed but "there most likely will not be 100 houses" built in the other areas for now.

In Ewing Street, where 16 residential units along with commercial space are currently subject to a Planning appeal, Sen. Burch said he hopes a public-private partnership will fund the construction without the need for Government debt.

Finally, he observed that the economic downturn may, at least, help make non-Government housing more affordable.

"The economic concern in the world is not just going to impact the Bermuda Housing Corporation. It's going to impact the wider housing market in this country and we've seen an inkling of that. Things are changing in that we're seeing properties being listed below their appraised value.

"We expect that to have an impact on rental and purchase units," he said.

Senator Burch banned a reporter from this newspaper from staying at the lottery housing meeting, despite it being advertised in the Bermuda Sun with no indication that it was closed to the wider public.

He said the wording of the advert was "a mistake" and a media ban was in place: "Because I said so. It's a closed meeting for them (the lottery winners.) Our policy has always been that we inform them first. If you're not a lottery winner, you're not invited, even if it's public money."