Action for Housing has issued a statement calling for the Rooke Facility to be used as Government rental stock.

A statement from Action for Housing follows below:

It has been announced that the long-delayed Rooke Elderly Care Facility will be ready by July but will no longer be used to relocate residents from Mount Alvernia. The Government said it had no plans to change the use of Mount Alvernia as an Elderly Care Home which means the Rooke House will be left empty.

The news that two UK companies have expressed interest in either purchasing or renting the Rooke facility from the Government is alarming. Action for Housing see this building as suitable government rental stock. The 10-storey building accommodates 182 beds in units fitted with en-suite bathrooms. This would provide ideal accommodation for the many homeless individuals and people on the Medical A+ and Social A+ list who are desperate for a modern living space like the Rooke facility provides.

The government promised they would construct new rental stock, but the housing minister has since stated that there is no land to build it on and the only option was to reclaim land from the sea which would be costly and take time. However, a good solution has presented itself with the availability of the new Rooke facility. There are many people living in slums and inhumane conditions in the upper town, these people could be housed at Rooke House in-turn freeing up a lot of pre-war buildings in the old town. A few units could be kept on reserve for future emergency cases. It’s a win-win situation for Gibraltar.