THE National Housing Development Corporation said yesterday that the construction of a retaining wall and the completion of the drainage system should stop falling rocks and flooding that has been affecting residents of Wellington Glades because of construction work at the hillside development of Wellington Heights, located above.

In the meanwhile, Horace Dalley, the land and environment minister, said instructions will be given to remove the boulders along the fence at Wellington Glades, so that in the event of rain the rocks would not slip and fall into the homes of the residents.

He has also issued instructions to have the file for the developers pulled and an investigation carried out to ensure that they are operating within the confines and adhering to the stipulations of the permit they were issued.

However, Dalley said many of the problems being experienced were not due to the construction itself, but because the work was not completed.

The minister was part of a group that toured the Wellington Glades community and Wellington Heights. Among the others on tour was Donald Buchanan, minister of water and housing.

The tour took place after Karlene Sinclair, a resident of the Wellington Glades area and one of the most outspoken critics of the construction, was threatened with death.

The Wellington Heights Development is a joint venture between the government’s National Housing Development Corporation (NHDC) and the private firm, Meridian Construction Company.

For months Wellington Glades home owners have been attempting to get the NHDC and Meridian to take the complaints seriously and to provide compensation for damage.

Meanwhile, St Aubyn Bartlett, the Jamaica Labour Party’s caretaker for Eastern St Andrew, last night renewed calls for an independent investigation into property and environmental damage caused by blasting from the Wellington Heights project.

He also urged that further blasting be halted until the probe is concluded and corrective measures instituted to prevent any further damage to houses at Wellington Glades.