A community housing group has called on the government to sack Bermuda Land Development Company chief executive officer Carl Musson.

People's Coalition for Affordable Housing chairman Rosemarie Pedro has filed her complaint with Health and Family Services Minister Nelson Bascome, and arranged to meet him to pass on details of her dossier on the BLDC.

But a spokesman for the developers, Don Grearson, dismissed her allegations as "rubbish'' and said the demolition plans were made public last year.

Ms Pedro yesterday called for a formal government investigation into the "deliberate and calculated vandalism'' of the Southside houses.

The houses on the former US naval base were "gutted'' after the election was called due to BLDC fears that a Progressive Labour Party government would cease the group's operation, she said.

"I do feel the destruction was a calculated demolition after the election was called so because of that Mr. Musson should be sacked.

"He used the demolition so he could not be stopped with his plans because he knew the PLP would stop them.

"His position should be terminated to show that irresponsible decisions have consequences.'' She said Mr. Musson had never taken the housing crisis seriously and accused the BLDC of "beefing up'' their security team to stop her from entering the Southside site to find out the progress of work.

Mr. Grearson said her claims were uninformed and the company had always prided itself on being politically neutral.

"The BLDC is developing Southside on the basis of a rational, long-term development plan, not politics. The records of the Company, and indeed the public record, bear this out,'' he said.

"The rationale for the demolitions began with the incontrovertible fact that the structures were unsafe in high winds.'' He said the demolition programme was made public more than a year ago when community feedback was invited on the Master Development Plan for Southside.

The demolition contract was tendered in May -- more than six months before the General Election was called -- and demolition work began on August 7.

He pointed to the BLDC's current plan to house 54 families at Southside who did not currently own a home as "testament'' to the fact that the BLDC was responding to real social needs.

The feud follows an announcement last week by Mr. Bascome and Development, Opportunity and Government Services Minister Terry Lister that it was too late to halt demolition of the properties on the St. David's former US naval base.

GOVERNMENT GVT