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Purchasers are paying the price of the delays
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It is clear that there will be further delays to the promised completion dates for the much needed Waterport Terraces project.
Additionally the pushing back of completion of Phase 1 of the Waterport Terraces Development is leaving purchasers in the unfortunate position of being faced with paying amounts in excess of ?3000 in re-payments of interest on bridging loans.
The PDP adds that payments after completion will go towards paying off purchasers mortgages whilst payments in respect to bridging loan finance do not count towards the repayment of the mortgage.
As such, as a direct result of these delays, for which the Government is accountable, purchasers are being forced to spend thousands of pounds needlessly and without the prospect of getting back these additional payments in interest.
The party recalls that purchasers were originally promised in glossy brochures that Phase 1 of the development would be completed by January 2007 with the added assurance that bridging loans from local banks would only operate in the short term and at low cost to purchasers.
DELAYS
However, completion of Phase I was delayed and in their first newsletter to purchasers in July 2007, GRP Investments sought to reassure purchasers that they would update purchasers via bi monthly newsletters. In financial terms the delay meant 7 additional and unnecessary payments of interest on bridging loans. Needless to say the issuing of bi-monthly letters never happened.
The story does not end there, they say. In its second newsletter GRP/Government stated that Phase 1 would be complete in October 2007 whilst the completion of Phase 2 and Phase 2 and Phase 3 would be completed by December 2007 and April 2008 respectively.
Since the issuing of the 2nd newsletter, conveniently before the General Election, both GRP and the Government, have failed to provide any details of completion to purchasers leaving many purchasers understandably becoming increasingly concerned about the mounting costs of their affordable homes.
As we rapidly approach February it would appear that a more realistic completion date for Phase 1 could be September/Christmas 2008 leaving some purchasers to foot the potential bill of more than ?3000!
The party adds: "This development has been plagued by delays and poor communication between Government, developers and informal representative groups of purchasers. Despite assurances and promises made by GRP and Government the completion of the long awaited housing estate seems long from becoming a reality.
"Many people are being affected by these delays from young people starting out on the property ladder, single parent families and growing families within existing Government rental stock. A worrying proportion of purchasers are crammed in with parents, grandparents and extended families. More recently some purchasers have had to move from their homes into Spain given the unaffordable costs of privately rented accommodation.
"Ultimately the Government is responsible for this project as developer and politically accountable for its broken promises. Purchasers need to be able to have the confidence that completion dates are kept to without further failures.
"Secondly Government needs to make a public statement as to how purchasers are to be compensated for the fact that they have to spend monies on bridging loans rather than on the repayment of their houses or on furnishings. "The PDP calls on the Government to clarify what ability it has, under the Building Contract, to enforce penalties against the developer for delays. A prudent and competent Government would have enabled the recovery of such monies from the contractor under properly negotiated safeguards such as penalty clauses.
MISMANAGEMENT
"The PDP further seeks clarification as to how the Government intends to better manage Gibraltar?s housing problem. At present the mismanagement of this affordable housing development is simply a further example of another broken electoral promise which impacts directly on the right to a home."
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