Action of Housing has called for an update on the St Christopher’s Lodge project.

A statement continued: “In August 2023 the government announced that they would be building a new block at Europa Point to house key workers, homeless, and men who following marital breakdown needed accommodation. There was much fanfare accompanied by an image of the new building in situ.

“St Christopher’s Lodge was to provide 256 beds across 110 suites and would replace existing accommodation at the Queen’s Hotel site. Earlier this year the government said the planning application has been held back pending a feasibility study for a new location and to-date there have been no updates on this important project.

“There is an acute housing crisis in Gibraltar with people stuck on the Medical A+ list and Social List for many, many years. It is a blight on our society, and we should not allow this to happen. The only way to clear the backlog is to construct housing for rental, it was a manifesto commitment from this government in October 2023 so when and where will it be built?

“Action for Housing estimates that at least 250 flats are needed to quell the current housing shortage. During a GBC Viewpoint debate on 15th March 2024 the housing minister Pat Orfila said that this would take a long time as we must reclaim land. This is not the case, there are many pockets of existing land which could be used including the land allocated for St Christopher’s Lodge which remains vacant. AFH also asks what is happening with the Mount Alvernia building once the residents have been relocated. It is clear that we do not need to reclaim land in order to construct 250 new rental homes so why the delay? Members of our society are living in squalor and the government must act now.”