WESTERN BUREAU — The National Housing Development Corporation (NHDC) has given 20 squatters who have captured sections of the Barrett Hall property in St James, until September 5 to vacate the Government-owned property.

NHDC’s managing director, Milverton Reynolds, told the Observer that the corporation served notices to quit after those persons, who were assigned lots under the Government’s Operation Pride programme, failed to deposit the required $35,000 to acquire one of the lots in the Barrett Hall Scheme.

“The notices that we have served… are (to) people who have not paid anything for the lots. They were given the opportunity to purchase the lots but we have received nothing from them,” Reynolds contended.

“We have waited long enough — between six months to a year — and therefore we just have to move, and that is why we have given them notice,” he added.

The Barrett Hall project is a ‘brownfield/ greenfield’ development, located west of Greenwood in St James and approximately 12 miles from Montego Bay.

The development, which was done at a cost of $427 million, comprises 365 hectares of the former Barrett Hall Estate, with each of the 2,181 lots consisting of roughly 4,500 square feet.

The lots are being sold at an average cost of $350,000.

Over the last few weeks, the illegal occupants have been clearing sections of the property near the upscale Greenwood community.

When the Observer visited the area last week, mounds of marl and other material were seen piled up on that section of the property, apparently waiting to be used in the construction of buildings and for levelling off sections of the soggy land.

At least three buildings were in the early stages of construction; but there was no work in progress.

Efforts to contact some of the illegal occupants were unsuccessful but Reynolds told the Observer that if they do not comply with the notice that was served last Tuesday, they would be severely penalised.

According to the notice posted by the NHDC, failure to vacate the premises will result in:

* squatters being forcibly removed from the property;

* any buildings, structure, material or fencing on the property being removed and/or demolished;

* squatters being ineligible to receive any benefit under the Operation Pride programme and other programmes initiated by the Minister of Housing and the NHDC.