Opposition United Bermuda Party Senators have attacked the Government's affordable housing policies.

The criticism was launched after Housing and Public Safety Minister Senator David Burch gave members of the Senate a report on the completion of the "Anchorage Villas" housing complex in St. George's.

Sen. Burch said the Anchorage Village project demonstrated that the Government was resolute in its commitment to address Bermuda's housing needs.

"As we recently outlined in our 2006 Throne Speech, we believe that every Bermudian has a right to have a safe and adequate place in which to live and we are proactively making strides to fulfill this mandate.

"Anchorage Villas truly represents the 'hand up' that Government believes honest, hard working Bermudians need and deserve," he explained.

However UBP Senator Gina Spence Farmer said she could not celebrate the completion of the "Anchorage Villas" because too many Bermudians — including children and the elderly — are living in 'deplorable' conditions because they can't find affordable homes in which to live.

To demonstrate her point Senator Farmer raised the issue of the dozens of homeless people who have taken refuge in the vacant and run down dormitories at the former Club Med building.

"This morning we were asked to celebrate the Anchorage property, but it really is a sad day because two minutes away from the Anchorage complex there is a building (Club Med dormitories), which is in deplorable condition, filled with people who would love to move across the street to the Anchorage development, but who know they are not eligible because of what it would cost to rent or buy one of the apartments," she said.

Senator Farmer said the situation at the old Club Med site puts a 'clear face on the real state of poverty on this island.

She said many of the squatters held jobs and paid their taxes on a regular basis.

"The building is in deplorable condition and I think this situation helps us understand the desperation of many Bermudians in their search for affordable housing.

"There is no running water at the facility. The youngest person living there is just 14 years old and when you speak to this young man you can clearly tell that he feels much sadness and much shame.

"One of the older gentlemen said he thought that 'Bermuda for Bermudians' is the worst thing to have when you can't rent an apartment that you can afford," she said. Senator Farmer said Bermuda's leaders had a moral responsibility to listen to the homeless and ensure that their needs are being met.

"This is a deplorable situation and I can't celebrate Anchorage and I won't celebrate until I begin to see affordable housing for those in our community who deserve better," she added.

Opposition leader in the Senate and Shadow Housing Minister, Kim Swan accused the Government of destroying a 'long standing family community' in its zeal to develop the Anchorage site.

"While the Anchorage Villa is a nice development and while the Anchorage Villa will provide a nice home for families around Christmas time it represents zero new housing for Bermuda because the Government took residents who were in need of affordable housing and put them in other parts of the island.

"The Government destroyed a community and now come here on the eve of an election and hold up the Anchorage Villa as a model for affordable housing. Please don't follow this model when you go forward building housing," he said.

Senator Swan said the working poor in Bermuda faced heart wrenching situations every single day.

"All one has to do is look in the classified section of the newspaper and see that there are no houses to rent for under $2,500.00.

"The real tragedy is that the situation for people who are working and contributing to this economy becomes more and more hopeless and it is tragic that those who are most affected are our children.

Senator Swan claimed the Government had 'thrown out the former residents of the Anchorage complex like dirty dishwater and had created housing that most Bermudian's could not afford.

"The main problem facing struggling families in Bermuda is that their 40 hour per week pay cheque is insufficient and cannot keep pace with the escalating cost of living in Bermuda. They are the working poor who also pay the taxes that afford this PLP Government to luxury to treat them with disdain and utter contempt."

Senator Burch did not respond to the concerns and criticisms expressed by the opposition senators.