Government has tried to “reach out” to the aggrieved residents of the Alexandra Road area over the last two months through “a series” of letters issued through the Bermuda Housing Corporation.

This is according to Housing Minister Ashfield DeVent, who last night issued his first public statement on the controversial issue which prompted chaotic scenes in the House of Assembly last Friday.

But speaking to The Royal Gazette last night, residents' spokesperson Albertha Waite rubbished the Minister's assertions, challenging him to produce proof of the “series” of correspondence.

188 residents of the Alexandra and Mary Victoria Roads in Pembroke signed a letter of complaint to Mr. DeVent on May 19, accusing him of breaking his promise - made to them in March 2004 when he first became Minister - that he would consult with them before resubmitting plans for a contentious housing development in the area.

Mr. DeVent withdrew an application from the Department of Planning in March of last year, when it became clear that the 34 unit housing project was to be vehemently opposed by residents concerned about the lack of space and the poor upkeep of the area in general by the BHC.

However, since that time, residents have claimed - both in their letter to Mr. DeVent and subsequently in the media - that there was “no consultation whatsoever” before a new 20 house plan was submitted.

Before last night, Mr. DeVent had maintained almost complete silence on the matter, relying on Premier Alex Scott, both in the House and in statements to the Press, to do his talking for him.

Repeated attempts since last week to contact Mr. DeVent have met with scant success. A response to a long list of questions submitted to the Minister yesterday morning was received by The Royal Gazette, at 8.30 p.m. The three paragraph response was a broad statement that failed to directly answer most of the questions this newspaper had asked.

“To date, I will confirm that my Ministry has made an effort to reach out to the residents of the Mary Victoria Road area with a view to hearing their concerns,” the release said.

“It is my sincere hope that common ground can be reached so that all parties can move forward. As it stands the Ministry of Works and Engineering and Housing is seeking planning approval to construct 20 housing units on Bermuda Housing Corporation property in the Alexandra and Mary Victoria Roads area. The Ministry, through the BHC, has communicated our intentions to the residents over the course of the past two months, via a series of written correspondence. I think it is important to point out that the comments and concerns of the area residents have been taken into account and as a result, the scope of the redevelopment has been reduced from 34 units to 20.

“As I have stated previously, a key mandate of the Ministry of Works and Engineering and Housing is to provide housing for the residents of this country. This is an issue that concerns us all as a community, and as the Minister responsible, I have an obligation and a responsibility to provide housing for those in need.”

But according to Mrs. Waite, apart from a letter sent on April 12 of this year, which informed the residents of the resubmission of the plans, there have been no other letters or contact of any kind, other than two memos from BHC informing them that the roads and the lighting in the area were to be improved.

She also revealed that Mr. DeVent's secretary had contacted her on Wednesday in order to arrange a meeting, but that she had made it very clear that until the plans were “pulled”, a meeting at this stage would be no more than a token gesture.

“We are all very unimpressed and disappointed with how the Minister has reacted since we first made our complaints known,” she said.

“If he is claiming there was further correspondence regarding consultation with us, I think he should produce it as proof. Has he met with anybody since he made the pledge to consult? If so, when and where? These are the questions to which we want answers. And I hope he is not trying to say that sending letters constitutes consultation, because any dictionary will tell you it involves a conference or a meeting and that just has not happened. But we stand by our original letter which demands that the plans be withdrawn and that he agree to meet with us. What is the point of having a meeting to hear our concerns when the plans are already in?”

While the Ministry was rushing ahead to build more houses, she said, residents still had a long list of grievances which needed to be aired, including “widespread” problems with guttering and sewage.

Faulty renovations conducted several years ago, she added, have still not been fixed.

“To be honest we're all sick and tired of this back and forth through the media and are desperate to meet face to face,” she said.

“If he sat down and met with us he would not have to keep reading these criticisms of him in the media. We are a very quiet, good community here and we've made every effort to be open and reasonable with him. But we're ready for him to admit he was wrong, pull the plans and come and listen to what we have to say. We need honourable representation in the House of Assembly. Don't you dare make a promise and break it.”