MONTEGO BAY, St James

Scores of homeowners at Phase 7 of Montego West Village in St James have accused Gore Developments Ltd, the developers of the housing scheme, of paying scant regard to concerns raised over mould infestation and soil erosion at their property.

“We purchased our homes less than a year ago and Gore has been really unresponsive [regarding] our concerns,” said one of the roughly 67 affected residents, claiming that the developers have shown “disregard for their health and safety.”

“We have been writing and they (Gore) are just reluctant in addressing our concerns,” she stressed.

The concerns, she told the Jamaica Observer West, include evidence of soil erosion on their land and mould infestation on the roof of their houses. The latter, she said, was confirmed by the St James Health Department, after extensive tests were carried out.

“We have been left with lots that are eroding when it rains. We also have an issue where the roofs have been discoloured. The public health department has done some testing and the results [have] confirmed that it is mould that is actually on the roof,” the resident noted.

Another resident, who also requested anonymity, told the Observer West that the St James Health Department was made aware of their plights in December of last year.

“Eighteen [houses] were inspected, which included swabs [being] taken from the roof, as well as petri dishes [being placed] inside the houses. Some of these were sent to the lab and they (results) all came back with mould on the inside as well as outside on the roof,” said the disgruntled resident.

Parish manager for the St James Health Department, Lennox Wallace, corroborated the residents’ claim that the houses are infested with mould.

“We received the complaints from residents in that particular area [and] our officers would have [went] into the field and did our inspections. Samples were collected from some of these homes and sent to the lab for testing, it was revealed that there was indeed fungal growth in some of these houses,” Wallace said.

Wallace noted that the St James Health Department intends to continue monitoring the affected houses to ensure that swift actions are taken to rid them of mould growth.

“A report was sent back [from] the medical officer of health to the complainants that there was indeed mould growth, so it is left to the citizens’ association and their company to take remedial measures. We will keep on monitoring these facilities to ensure that remedial actions are taken to rid the houses of the growth of mould,” he said.

According to the disgruntled homeowners, after receiving the test results from the St James Health Department, they again reached out to the developers to voice their concerns.

The company’s response, they said, showed a lack of interest and accountability.

“They have given [us] a response to indicate that they can do nothing about mould, [or] mildew growth, and [that] it is [caused by] the general humidity in Montego Bay,” said a resident.

According to the residents, they also reached out to some local regulatory authorities, in a bid to share their “unfortunate circumstances” and seek further assistance, “but just like with Gore Developments Ltd,” they said, their concerns were met with very little interest.

“We have also reached out to the regulatory authorities to include the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), St James Municipal Corporation and the Real Estate Board Jamaica and we are not really getting any traction from any of these authorities [but] they are aware of the issues that we are having,” a resident told the Observer West.

Their lands, the homeowners allege, have also been a major contributor to their “constant headaches.”

Additionally, they claim that soil erosion at the development has caused property pegs to fall into neighbours’ yards.

This, they believe, is caused by the de-bushing of the lands by the developers.

“Based on how they have cut the lots in the scheme, it has really affected the lots in terms of soil erosion, in terms of property pegs falling into another lot. You might have a lot that is at an elevation, say 20 feet high, and your boundary peg is way below so that will require you to build a retaining wall say about 30 feet high. Gore’s response is that well it is in your contract that you’re supposed to build your own walls, but my perspective is that you could not expect that, and Gore is of the opinion that they ought not to do anything because you have a contract that says ‘we’re not responsible for retaining walls’,” a resident said.

In response to queries made by the Observer West, director of Gore Developments Limited, Christopher Gore, said in a statement that an independent study was conducted last month, after receiving complaints from the residents.

“When the issue of the roof discolouration arose at Montego West Village, we commissioned an independent investigation by Environmental Solutions Limited to do a study of the issue and prepare a report of its findings,” he said.

“As regards [to the] roof discolouration to some units, this has been caused by mould growth resulting from environmental contaminants which occur in the environment and not from the roofing material. For example, similar and higher levels of mould were found on the marl and boundary walls indicating distribution of the mould in the environment in the area,” said Gore.

“As regards some residents’ concern about soil erosion, this is a non-issue as the lots were delivered properly pegged and graded in accordance with the requirements of the relevant planning and development authorities. When the pegs become dislocated, as they oftentimes are, they can be re-pegged,” Gore told the Observer West.

The director noted that Gore Developments Ltd has always been a reputable development company and has been responsive to the residents’ concerns.

“We are and have always been a professional and responsible developer in keeping with the highest standards in the industry. We have been responsive to the homeowners in all our developments. In fact, we are in constant dialogue with the homeowner’s association at Montego West Village and are fully cooperative in responding to the homeowners’ concerns,” he added.

He shared with the Observer West the independent study which was conducted by Environment Solutions Limited for Gore Developments Ltd.

The study corroborates the statement given by the director that the mould growth in the homes were caused by the environment and are not dependent on the roofing material used in the construction of the homes.

The Montego West Village housing development consists of roughly 1,174 two and three- bedroom units with prices ranging from $12 million to $17,000 per unit.

Of that amount, Phase 7 has roughly 205 units.

Homeowners in that phase started to occupy their houses last year.