Government Confirms Westside Reclamation Will Be Affordable Housing
The Government says the Westside reclamation will deliver around 2,300 affordable homes exclusively for Gibraltarians. Demolition works are expected to begin later this week, with the reclamation itself taking around 18 months.
A statement from the Government follows below:
HM Government of Gibraltar today confirms that the Westside reclamation, approved by the Development and Planning Commission on 28 May 2026, will create approximately 47,000 square metres of new land within the northern half of the inner harbour, in front of Westview Park, and that the residential development built on it will be EXCLUSIVELY affordable housing. The demolition works necessary to give way to the construction of the new reclamation will begin later this week.
This is land being created for the people of Gibraltar. The entirety of the residential development to be built on it will be affordable housing. There will be no open market or private residential element and no part of the residential development will be sold at commercial prices. The homes will be delivered to Gibraltarians under Government affordable housing schemes, in the same way as the estates enabled by earlier reclamations in the same area.
The creation of the land itself is expected to take approximately eighteen months from commencement.
The development is expected to deliver 2,300 homes. This will include a dedicated element of pensioner accommodation, allowing elderly tenants to move into appropriately sized flats and releasing larger Government rental homes for growing families. The development will be delivered in phases. This phased approach is designed to deliver homes as quickly as possible.
As set out at the time of the original announcement, the reclamation has been designed to preserve the area of the GASA bathing pavilions. There will be no loss to the bathing pavilion. The existing children's park will be relocated for the duration of the construction works and will be expanded as part of the final development, ensuring no loss of recreational facilities to the area.
The Government will make further announcements in respect of the plans, allocation of houses and timelines for the development in due course.
Minister Arias-Vasquez said: "Every home built on this land will be an affordable home, allocated under the affordable housing scheme to Gibraltarians who need one. We have designed the reclamation so that the bathing pavilion is preserved and the children's park comes back larger than it was, because creating new homes should not come at the cost of the facilities families already use. We will build in phases so that homes can be handed over as early as possible and the dedicated pensioner accommodation will release larger rental properties for families who have waited too long for the space they need. Furthermore, we will keep the community informed at every stage of the works, and I am very excited to deliver on this project and to see the works begin later this week."
The Chief Minister, the Hon Fabian Picardo KC MP, said: "Gibraltar has always grown by creating the land its people need, and every generation of Gibraltarians who has benefited from an affordable home on reclaimed land has done so because a previous generation was willing to build. This land is being created for the people of Gibraltar and for no one else. This project is entirely for affordable homes. Not one square metre of the residential development is for the open market. It will house our young families, it will provide proper accommodation for our pensioners, and it will, potentially, also make provision for the schooling of the children who will grow up there. This Government is clear about what this land is for, and it will be delivered for the people it is intended to serve. These are NOT homes for the rich, because we NEVER build homes for the rich. These are homes for our working people. The people whose growing families are the future Gibraltarians and the future of Gibraltar."
