Perseverance to be sustainable community model

DPI/GINA, GUYANA, Tuesday, June 20, 2017

Perseverance on the East Bank of Demerara will be the model community for sustainable development as the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) pursues a more community based housing development plan.

Chief Planning officer of the CH&PA, Germene Staurt said a planning scheme is being developed to initiate guidelines, ensuring that communities are more cohesive and have access to locations and sites such as recreational parks and fields, community hospitals, schools and other critical day to day amenities.

“This (Perseverance) is where we have successfully hosted the housing exhibition dubbed housing solutions 2017 and beyond. That planning scheme will address the issue of zoning within that area, the formulation of by-laws to guide homeowners and developers with respect to the altering of properties. We’re using perseverance as a pilot and with that we are hoping to extend to other housing areas.”

Staurt explained that Perseverance (housing scheme) will be the platform community where they will be hoping to extend and develop other sustainable communities, “The CH&PA will not just serve as housing developers but sustainable community developers to a greater extent.”

This is a part of many plans outlined by the CH&PA for the second half of 2017. More extensively, the authority has been working, he stated, completing the community design model.

“With respect to the planning aspect we were responsible for the preparation and the execution of designs surveys and in this regard we have completed the designs of the construction of the duplexes that were on display at the housing exhibition and not only in the designs of the duplexes we have completed but in community designs because the whole thing is going back to having sustainable communities.” Stuart further explained.

Moreover, to facilitate these plans Stuart added, greater work must be done with local authorities especially within the various regions. To this end, the CH&PA is looking to strengthen working relations with these authorities.

“To start it off, to start off this process we think that what was key was to have more awareness so in march 2017 we hosted the national planning forum which was successfully completed. A major output of this forum was the development of an action plan, how we can coordinate among other agencies and coordinate in local authorities,” the planning officer explained.

The planning component of the CH&PA has recognised the need to be strengthened hence key aspects of the body’s functions were addressed these include complaints of poor land use and management and issues relating to zoning in housing schemes.

When enhanced, the planning aspect of the authority, will facilitate effective planning control and land use management towards establishing the sustainable community model and ensuring other areas to be developed is sustained.

 

By: Delicia Haynes