The Ministry of Informal Settlement Upgrading is finalizing budget allocations to execute the planned relocation of Pole yard residents, addressing long-standing spatial challenges adjacent to the national hospital. The phased relocation initiative will move families to a designated four-acre parcel in Green Hill, where the government is slated to construct road networks and essential utility infrastructure in the upcoming budget cycle.
Ministry officials emphasized that the clearance of Pole yard will be conducted gradually to avoid sudden displacement while ensuring the area surrounding the hospital expansion is clear. Rather than clustering all displaced households into a single location, the ministry is identifying multiple settlement sites across the mainland to accommodate affected families in structured, serviced communities.
Concurrently, the government is advancing formalization projects in the Diamond informal settlement. Unlike Pole yard, residents in Diamond will remain in place as the ministry executes targeted sanitation and utility upgrades. Recent budgetary provisions have funded the installation of indoor bathroom and toilet facilities, alongside comprehensive connections to national water and electrical grids.
Infrastructure development in Diamond is further supported by a major road reconstruction project spanning from the old police station to the local health clinic, with direct connections to the main Diamond Gap. Contracting crews are also completing bus stop upgrades and structural improvements at Diamond Junction, wrapping up broader infrastructure works initially launched under the Calliaqua road enhancement program.
