WESTERN BUREAU — Representatives from the National Housing Trust will meet with residents of Cornwall Court community in St James on Saturday to listen to their complaints about the scheme’s $1.95-billion first phase and give them a chance to have some input in the plans for the $876 -million second phase.

“We’re inviting all the residents, bringing in the designers and contractors there. We are coming up-front so that the people can realise that we are giving information, listening to all their comments,” said senior director of technical services, Patrick Brown. “This is not the first time, this is the fifth time we are doing it and we intend to do it on site so people can point to all the problems and we will meticulously go through all the issueS raised.”

Since its construction in 1999, the Cornwall Court Housing scheme’s first phase has been harshly criticised by homeowners who have been plagued by flooding in the area, sewage problems and other minor deficiencies in their homes.

According to Brown, the National Water Commission has now taken over the scheme’s sewage plant from the developers, Ashdev, and they are now fine-tuning the details relating to the sewerage lines.

“I think they have a problem with the terminal manholes, they want some adjustment and they have written the contractor and they are now having discussions with NWC about how to resolve it,” the senior official said. “So the NWC is monitoring the pipeline and the developer is trying to have these corrections done so they can have a formal hand-over, more than an informal arrangement.”

The contractors have been footing the bill for the corrections made, as the site has not yet been officially handed over to the NHT. According to Brown, they will not be given the go-ahead to start working on the 900-unit second phase until the NHT signs off on phase one.

“Phase two will not be started until the NHT is totally satisfied with all the issues in phase one. We are substantially satisfied apart from the minor defects that are occurring. The biggest issue in phase one is related to the storm-water drains,” he said.

“We have been on site and we have done a lot of adjustment and correction and during the last two rainfalls the drains operated satisfactorily. Last time, a section of one of the drain walls collapsed and is now being repaired. There was a structural reinforcement that was not adequate, they have now corrected it in one section.”

He added that the contractors have worked on the design for the second phase’s drainage system with careful attention being paid to ensure that the problems experienced in phase one do not recur. The transport ministry has approved this design, but the NHT will have a team of engineers look over the plans, just to be sure that all the necessary elements are in place.

Brown could not give a definite startup date for phase two, but roughly estimated that work could begin later in the month.

At Saturday’s meeting, the NHT will also announce plans to begin working on a green area for THE community’s use.

“It was not done before because the area was used as the contractor’s site office and production yard,” Brown said. “We have advised them that it’s time for them to leave and relocate. They are going to phase two, in a preliminary way, and we expect in another two to three weeks they would have left the site and we have already committed to the residents that that area would be converted to a green area, a park for the community.”