PREMIER Alex Scott said yesterday that residents of Alexandra and Mary Victoria Roads should take some responsibility for failing to register their concerns over a BHC housing development in their neighbourhood.

Housing Minister Ashfield DeVent has come under fire from the residents, who say he has failed to honour his pledge to consult with them over a new 20-unit housing development.

But sharing the spotlight with Mr. DeVent at a press conference at the Cabinet Office, Mr. Scott said the objectors to the project had failed to take the opportunity to have their say.

The row is centred around two letters from Mr. DeVent to residents. In the first, in March 2004, Mr. DeVent said he would "consult" with residents over the Bermuda Housing Corporation (BHC) project.

The second, in April this year, informed residents that the plans for 34 units had been scaled down to 20 units. In May, 188 residents signed a letter of complaint to Mr. DeVent accusing him of having broken his promise to consult before resubmitting plans.

"The Minister wrote to the residents on April 12, five weeks before the plans were submitted," Mr. Scott said.

"It may not have been the meeting they wanted. But don't the residents also have a responsibility to respond to a letter from the Minister about a subject they supposedly feel very strongly about? To write back and say, 'This is what we think'."

Mr. DeVent argued that he had consulted with the residents when the project had first been proposed. He said he had visited them and discussed the matter personally with them and so he was aware of their concerns.

"I listened carefully and we stepped back from the plans to build 34 units and made it 20 units," Mr. DeVent said. "I am obligated to build houses."

He added that "it was easy for them to go into their home, sit on a lounge chair and complain", a luxury not afforded to the homeless people it was his aim to house. And he added that residents of Mary Victoria and Alexandra Roads had themselves benefited from Government housing and should not try to deny that opportunity to others.

The Minister also announced that work on two new housing developments was expected to be completed by the end of the month.

A mixture of renovated and new units added up to six new apartments at Sandhurst, on Slippery Hill, St. George's. And three more units were about to become available at Orange Hole, Southside, St. David's.

Eight new BHC units on Butterfield Lane, Sandys, were also due to be completed soon, he added.

The announcement came as homeowner hopefuls prepared to see if they can land the opportunity to buy one of the $199,000 units at the Bermuda Homes for People Harbourside Village development in St. David's.

The lottery will be held tonight at the Ruth Seaton James Centre for the Performing Arts, when the 140 entrants will be vying for the 98 cut-price homes.

Mr. Scott said the Opposition had attacked aspects of the Harbourside scheme unfairly and he in turn attacked plans for affordable housing floated in the United Bermuda Party manifesto at the July 2003 General Election.

"These are not the ticky-tacky houses promised by another party, these are good homes," the Premier said. "There will be a marina at the site and a public centre.

"The have-nots will have a slice of waterside property, a slice of something they have not had before. The have-nots will have a piece of the rock that any one of us would like to have."

On housing policy looking ahead, Mr. DeVent declared an overall goal of making 1,000 more units available through building and renovation. And he said a survey, whose results would be submitted to the Housing Ministry by June 15, would indicate housing needs in terms of quantity and type of units. There were currently around 300 people on the BHC waiting list, he added.

Mr. Scott revealed that a team from Harvard University was studying different housing, retail and tourism options for the site of the former US Naval Annex in Southampton, Morgan's Point.

But before any decision could be taken on that site ? which is still heavily polluted in places due to the mess left behind by the US military ? Government would first need to take into account the results of the sustainable development study being carried out now by a Government team.

"How much growth is too much?" Mr. Scott said. "The minute we start getting advice from the sustainable development team, that will manifest itself in Government policy, for example housing policy and immigration policy.

"We will also have to look at how these policies impact on the market place and the financial structure we have. We have to act in the interests of the community."

He said the first report from the team was due "in a month or two".

Mr. DeVent said Bermuda had to accept new construction techniques to tackle the affordable housing problem.

"We are looking at various methods," Mr. DeVent said. "Brick on brick is not the best method. I would direct people to look at a house at Spanish Point. It's a large structure that has gone up very quickly.

"The first floor went up in a week and the second in just under a week. I understand the people involved have saved around $600,000 by not building by the traditional method. We have to change the way we build."