Six families’ hopes of a home dashed

SIX families waiting to move in to discount Homebuy houses have had their dreams dashed after the plug was pulled on the scheme.

The six homes at Uplands have been redesignated by Environment Minister Rob Duhamel as ‘first-time buyer’ homes, instead of discounted ‘Homebuyer’ properties – a change that netted the developer around £900,000 and which has put the houses out of the reach of the six families who have been waiting more than a year to move in.

But there is complete confusion over who is responsible. Deputy Duhamel says the States’ lawyers told him they could not use the Homebuy scheme and blamed the Parish of St Helier for pushing the issue to a conclusion.

Meanwhile, Housing Minister Andrew Green – whose St Helier No 3 district includes the Uplands site – is blaming Deputy Duhamel saying his handling of the scheme has been ‘appalling’.
(from JEp)