FIFTY-SIX units of key-worker accommodation at Westaway Court will become available in the next month, and a further 56 in April and May at Le Marais, the Chief Minister has said.
Deputy Kristina Moore told the Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel that she was ‘really pleased with progress’ in response to the ambition to release at least 100 such units by the end of the year, a target set in the ministerial plans.
She said that a further 20 units, currently being used to accommodate Islanders displaced by the Haut du Mont explosion, would increase the total further when their were no longer required as emergency accommodation.
Responding to questions about the housing crisis at the recent hearing, Deputy Moore said that the government was strengthening its strategic housing unit in a bid to address current pressures, and was also establishing a designated unit to provide better access to housing and advice to those coming to the Island.
‘At the moment it is very ad hoc, which is sucking up the time of nurses who we would much prefer were spending their time doing what they are trained to do. We don’t want them spending their time trying to find accommodation for their colleagues. It simply doesn’t make sense, ‘ she said.
In response to a question from panel chair Deputy Sam Mézec about whether the landlord services provided by Andium to their own tenants could also be provided at Westaway Court, she hinted at an expanded role for the States-owned housing provider. ‘I think your question well reflects discussions that we have been having in very recent times,’ she said.
