AN independent engineer is to assess the areas which have been blasted at the Wellington Heights housing project in Kingston, and make recommendations on ways to stop falling rocks and flooding that have threatened the nearby Wellington Glades.

“I am expecting the engineer’s report by next week. He will do an assessment of the area and look at the rocks that the residents have complained about as well as explore what can be done to deal with drainage,” president of the National Housing Development Company (NHDC), Milverton Reynolds, told the Observer yesterday.

The NHDC is working with Meridian Construction Company to develop 17 acres of land in the hillside overlooking Wellington Glades, an upscale townhouse complex at the foot of Beverly Hills. The project is expected to provide 45 housing lots.

However, residents of Wellington Glades complained that they have been having problems with the housing development since work started on a road through the hillside in 2000. The road is supposed to provide access to the lots.

The residents said the blasting on the hillside had changed the natural course of water drainage, leaving them vulnerable to severe flooding whenever it rained heavily.

They also complained that rocks from the blasting had been left precariously placed on the hillside and had been rolling down into their backyards and play area.

“The residents had proposed that we build a retaining wall to stop the water and the rocks but that depends on what the engineer recommends,” Reynolds told the Observer.

According to the NHDC president, adequate measures would be put in place to ensure the safety of the Wellington Glades residents. At the same time he said a representative from Meridian Construction would be visiting the homes to make an assessment of the damage and to see what solutions could be arrived at for compensation.

Reynolds said that he expected work on the project to resume by July as construction on the project had been on hold until some internal issues were sorted out.

“We have dealt with the problems and I expect work to begin by July — weather permitting,” Reynolds said. He said that he would be meeting with the contractor soon to iron out the work schedule.