A more than temporary housing fix?
A FEW days ago this column cast doubt on the prospects of temporary housing villages for construction workers ever becoming any more than a pipe dream.
Judging by developments since, the States of Guernsey is indeed deadly serious. Now it has been deadly serious before on ideas that have never come to anything, but this, being presented as a direct challenge to the local construction sector, is firming up by the day.
Now, we’re told, the States is looking at housing pods which could last for 10 or 20 years and could be moved between sites.
This appears to have political momentum, at least, even if the practicalities have not yet been fully explored.
But what could this mean for islanders? If these pods are perfectly serviceable and allow for independent living, what are the prospects of offering them, or something similar, to local people desperate for independence or a fresh start?
No new housing initiative would work as quickly as the prospect of modular housing – even with a distinct shelf-life – potentially on some of the new sites identified for housing.
Maybe the States should think about working together as an experiment with the Caritas charity, given its ambitions to create quality, albeit short-term, housing quickly. The political motivation being shown needs to do more than potentially disrupt, or boost, the construction sector, depending on your perspective.