On this page and Page 7 we continue our coverage of Friday's Speech from the Throne by Governor Thorold Masefield Government's focus will be directed at renovating vacant and derelict properties as it aims to continue boosting the stock of available affordable housing while encouraging sustainable development.

The news came in Friday's Throne Speech -- an outline of Government's legislative and policy plans for the upcoming Parliamentary year -- which was read by Governor Thorold Masefield. He said: "Over the next 12 months a number of new initiatives will be introduced to increase the rental stock and provide additional units for sale to first-time home buyers.

"Existing properties will be recycled through the Vacant and Derelict Programme, the new Adopt-A-Home Programme and the Private Sector Rentals Programme.'' Bermuda Housing Corporation General Manager Raymonde Dill later explained that the new Adopt-A-Home Programme was similar to the Habitat Programme in that it would address social problems linked with low cost housing while providing "bricks and mortar''.

"It will bring a number of factions in the community together to renovate, or bring into a habitable state, a dwelling,'' he said.

Businesses and individuals would be approached to provide the financing for the renovation of a home, and community organisations in the neighbourhood would be approached to do the work needed to bring the property into a habitable state with the Bermuda Housing Corporation facilitating the process, he said. The Throne Speech noted that the programmes would encourage sustainable development and would likely require legislation amendments to make the process smoother.

Mr. Masefield said: "The move away from building new units to recycling existing unused units is consistent with Government's desire to recognise a sustainable level of development within the Island's limited land resources.

"Accordingly, the current General Improvement Area will be reviewed and the necessary amendments put in place to assist the Corporation with recycling vacant and derelict properties in the most expeditious manner so as to expand the housing stock.'' Mr. Dill said the General Improvement Area was legislation which could be used to encourage land owners to upgrade their properties if they were deemed to be eyesores or health hazards.

Government would assist the owners in the upgrading of their properties which would, in turn, upgrade the neighbouring area.

He said the owners of these properties tended to be hard to find, unwilling to work on their properties, wrapped up in court cases or involved in sibling rivalries and the Corporation would be looking at the legislation to see if it could help it get the vacant and derelict properties renovated quicker.

In the 1999 Throne Speech Government pledged it was "committed to increasing the stock of affordable housing'' and said the Bermuda Housing Corporation was poised to build 50 new two and three bedroom units and would "accelerate its renovation programme that targets vacant and derelict housing units''.

"Over the past 12 months,'' continued the Governor, "the Bermuda Housing Corporation has renewed its efforts to provide affordable housing to lower income families and to date has successfully housed 119 families.

"The Housing Corporation's Building Programme is progressing well with an additional 58 units currently under construction.'' And Mr. Dill added that this was part of the Corporation's plans to build 100 homes and noted that 34 more units had recently received planning approval.

Meanwhile, 16 units had been completely renovated under the Vacant and Derelict Programme, 16 units were currently undergoing renovations and negotiations to renovate 30 more properties were well underway, said Mr. Dill.