Another ambitious target has been set by the Government for the construction of affordable accommodation, with the latest goal set at 400 units in the next 18 months.

Zane DeSilva, the housing minister, said in May that it was hoped 310 units would be completed in a year-and-a-half as part of the first phase of the Government’s draft Affordable Housing Strategy.

Speaking at a meeting last night to garner feedback on several sites proposed for the second phase of the plan, the Deputy Premier told attendees that a combination of rental units and properties for purchase were in the pipeline.

He said: “I think everyone in the room agrees that housing is one of the most pressing challenges that we have in the country today.

“Families are struggling for affordable accommodation. Some families are living with other families. We have people living in cars, we have people living in tents.

“We cannot build homes in this country fast enough.

“Our waiting list at the Bermuda Housing Corporation now stands at 580 families. 580 families are looking for homes.

“Out of those 580, we have just under 200 that we have deemed in critical position, and that is not nice.

“We do not have time to deal with the regular, normal red tape when it comes to producing homes for our people. It has been too long.”

Mr DeSilva noted that as part of the second phase of the housing plan, the Government was considering projects at 13 Ewing Street in Hamilton; Harbourview, St David’s; Ocean View, Warwick; Tudor Hill, Southampton; and Maria Hill, Sandys.

However, he said that nothing was set in stone and the Government wanted to get feedback from the public before moving forward.

Mr DeSilva added: “We want to hear what you think, then we will go away, look at what you have said, look at what our technical people have said, continue to look at different building methodologies and we will continue to make decisions.”

Jeanne Nikolai, the ministry’s permanent secretary, said all five of the proposed sites were either directly owned by the Government or its quango the Bermuda Land Management Corporation.

She added that the Government was looking to spread out the projects geographically.

Ms Nikolai said the Ewing Street site could potentially house as many as 25 units by building vertically, with Mr DeSilva later stating that a six or seven-storey building was being considered.

She added: “We can no longer sprawl. We have to build up, and it makes sense to intensify that development in the City of Hamilton for any number of reasons.

“It’s convenient for work, it’s convenient for entertainment, it’s convenient for shopping, groceries and all those kind of services that you need for a community, so that is why we are considering that site.”

She said the St David’s proposal was the previously-approved second phase of the Harbourview development, which would add an additional 36 housing units.

Ms Nikolai said: “We are not introducing something that the community hasn’t seen, commented on and vetted before. Those units will be for purchase.”

The Maria Hill site, near Lagoon Park on Ireland Island South, could feature as many as 75 units, but was planned to be more residential in nature with possible townhouse-type units or higher-rise buildings.

Meanwhile, as many as 80 units could be established on Tudor Hill, the site of a former US Navy base in Southampton that Ms Nikolai said had been underutilised for decades.

She said: “Perhaps it is time we utilise it. The topography there is a little more difficult, but there are services not far away, so it made sense to look at that site.”

Ms Nikolai said the fifth site was Ocean View in Warwick, which she said was not to be confused with the golf course of the same name.

Responding to questions, Mr DeSilva said he was in talks with banks about how to make it easier for Bermudians to buy homes, stating that the banks need to do more.

He said: “I have even talked to banks about no deposit, by they way, and they are fighting me on that. I am also trying to get them to extend the mortgages.

“We all know that if you extend a mortgage for 50 years, you will pay for it ten times over, but my thing is you make the payments as small as you can and maybe over time they can save some money, make some balloon payments and then they won’t have to pay all that interest.

“You can get creative with finances and we have been having those conversations in depth with the banks.”

Mr DeSilva also said that more announcements will come, with groundbreaking expected on some of the first phase housing projects in the next few weeks, along with details about plans to address derelict homes around the island.

He added: “I expect that to be approved by Cabinet next week and then we are going to put it out for consultation and we will come back.”