Young people want land | Roughly 600 have already applied — Wheatley
More young locals are interested in owning land in the British Virgin Islands, Minister for Natural Resources Vincent Wheatley has said.
He said roughly 600 persons have already applied to the ministry.
“We continue to receive more, almost daily.”
“Land ownership engenders a sense of pride and accomplishment, and we want to do our best to get the young people of this territory on the part of wealth creation and building a legacy for future generations,” he said while delivering remarks at the recent sitting of the House of Assembly.
Be patient
In the meantime, Wheatley is urging applicants to be patient as “this matter as this is not a simple and straight forward task, by any stretch of the imagination.”
“The ministry has been fielding some very complicated land issues, some of which date back forty years and some fifty years ago. The land situation in this territory is very convoluted and requires an inordinate amount of time to sort out,” he said.
Nonetheless, he said the Andrew Fahie-led administration is determined to assist locals.
“These issues span the entire length and breadth of this territory, and we are determined to assist as the people have nowhere else to turn for a solution to these vexing issues. We have identified areas in the Registered Land Ordinance that needs some revision. To that end, we have convened a committee that is currently working on those reviews.”
Meanwhile, he also apologized to persons who might have wrongfully received letters informing them that they have been awarded a piece of Crown land.
“I assure you that we are doing everything possible to issue titles. Based on our current policy to revoke lands that were not paid for, we are in the process of making those lots available to persons who were previously approved by Cabinet. While the general idea is to give as many persons (especially young people) as possible the opportunity for land ownership, priority will be given to those that are in a position to qualify at a bank for the loan to do so this decision was on the heal of a number of applications that cannot be satisfied at this time, while at the same time there are persons who were awarded land and have made no attempt to pay for it, and this goes as far back as 15 years or more” he explained.
Delinquent landowners had a six-week time frame to pay up the funds owed on the government-issued Crown lands, or they are at risk of losing the said property.
The land distribution initiative is in keeping with an election promise to residents by the VIP.
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Where do i apply?
How do I apply for this?
These are promises that were made and cant be fulfilled
If you give out land for free, of course people want some. Why is this surprising to anyone?
Young people want land but even once they get the land they cannot afford to build on it. The banks have shut their shops now and are only baiting and handing out loans for fancy cars and jeeps. This little place will crumble if the Government doesn’t intervene and fast. I’m not one to expect Government to be the answer to everything but the property/housing crisis that is about to occur here will need Government actions if we expect our young generation to own anything around here. None of the banks, even our own National Bank are interested in taking any risk or doing the necessary to rebuild the Territory. What are banks here for if they are taking zero risk? The Territory should remain stagnant? Meanwhile those with fat pockets can waltz in and take advantage of what is happening here.
Actually, it’s all about transparency. The UK offered to lend us close to $100M two years ago. All we had to do was open the books to them. But, as you will recall the former admin refused to open our books to them and to us as well.
With proper long term planning and a commitment to end corruption there should be enough public assistance to make every citizen a well educated happy homeowner.
But for now, we still don’t even know why the prior admin invested $7.2M of our money in an airline that didn’t exist or what even happened to that money. Time for change.
Your post has nothing to do with what the previous poster said about young people affording to build a home even if they had land. The UK wasnt about to lend us money for locals to build homes. They were teasing us with loan guarantees which were hinged on us having international tender processes to include UK companies as well. Sleep but dont sleep so hard that you become ‘stupidy’.
I was once young applied more than god know how often in VG.From North Sound to copper mind up to now. Ur sage said “north sound land is for north sound people”.That was o.k but when I saw people from outside round rock owning land in coppermine I said uknow ur not from here born /bred politics rule.Look at a.place we call John tarter who own pls. Give some explanation. Igone Butch
How long I apply for land and ain’t get through set a promises
For a very small territory,the lot sizes are generally too large. Split them up so more people can benefit and secondly, the cost will be more manageable.
correct young people can’t afford to build even if they get land free so they just either build a dangerous stuffy shack or sell the land to developers.
What the young need is housing not land ! A quality home give pride and sense of belonging not a stip of scrub. why not do whats been done on TCI and other islands . Gov raise money for social housing. in not in the budget then parcel off and sell some land to developers ( ni such a bad thing for the economy) the the money Raines is ring fenced and social housing built of large plots in community pods and give young people pepper corn rents. TCI have done this in blue hills and ts working slowly but surly people are being taken out of housing poverty. ( yes BVI despite being called the richest island in the Caribbean the divide between those who have and don’t have is large and people on BVI in some communities are living in poverty) . the benefits are Hugh. the pride to run and keep your own home Cretes and pride and a need to work and improve yourself and in TCI drug usage in those areas has dramatically reduced.
Finally before the sons of the soil start to rant. give the home owners the right to buy the property over a period as part of the rent and a reduce value.
Really bad idea to give people housing! If you want people to get ahead, train them for good jobs! Make them earn what they get and they will respect it 1,00000 times more than if you give it to them. Then those people will take care of the property they purchase.
What do you consider to be a good job? I am a very qualified teacher and surely can’t afford to build on my salary.
It is to early in the morning to be drunk already. Or is it the hang over?
You have made an attempt at being positive, but that ole english racism refused to stay hidden.
Like most government initiatives, there will always be room for improvement and tweeking, this one is no different.
What must be firmly applauded, is the fact that one of us is ensuring, from a position of authority, that some of us become holders and owners of the wealth building pie, a piece of our land.
To complement such a bold initiative, our local land owners should stop selling theirs to the highest European, Chinese or Arab so called investor, and sell to our own people, also.
I say “so called investors” because every business in the BVI that has gobbled up land on the cheap masquarading as business and job creators has failed miserably in delivering their original business and job creation business pitch.
They succeeded, however, in becoming mega rich at the expense and cheap labour of our people.
For example, after sixty to seventy years of hotel construction and operations, and huge earnings, not one local still can’t afford a piece of property or a home.
Historicall facts show that, my and many other mothers and fathers worked two shifts daily, from Tailor WoodRow days to the present LDB, BC BE, Peter and others, for example, and every last one of them retired poor, lived thereafter and died poor.
Further, their pittance received for retirement was an insult and their social security a meager piece of dry bread compared to vast services they provided and huge profits gained as a result.
To make matters worst, any property that is close to any European expat land owner is assuredly priced way, way beyond the affordable ability of any local, from whom the land was purchased (stolen) from in the first place. That is fact, unfair, unbalanced and unreasonable economic racism.
So Scott, begin agitating among your own for better economic on the job improvements and pay of local employees. Then after, package and repost your bigotry back to where you brought it from.
Who said I was English lol
I agree with every word you type but the model of quality social community housing is working on other islands
None sense. Every where that model has been applied has creatd ghettos.
Not a wealth generating model, is it?
600… But please tell the people you wont be able to fulfill all requests……
Scott clearly does not want locals owing land, thus his argument for government to build slum or ghetto houses, keeping the local populace landless and without a source of wealth mechanism.
That European mind has been at the game a long time. He knows how things work.
Put them in a project home environment, keep them landless while we come in and buy up all their lands, never to be owned by them again.
That’s the main psychological theme throughout his contribution to the topic.
Where do I apply?
where can one apply
What’s the cost of crown land?