March 8, 2022
Two new homes have been officially unveiled in Cherbourg, the last of a group of six promised by Cherbourg Aboriginal Shire Council to help lower the long waiting list for housing.
The latest buildings, located in Fisher Street, have been built to cater for disability living.
Council had hoped to have all six homes built by the end of 2021 but COVID-19 introduced some minor delays.
The other four homes, which are already housing families, are in Fisher, Barber and Carter streets.
CEO Chatur Zala said the latest two houses had been completed to “platinum” standard.
“There’s a split-system (air-conditioning) in the living room and a split-system in the bedroom. The quality of the bathrooms and the bedrooms is absolutely top of the quality,” he said.
“We have the lawn outside and properly fenced gates. We are very proud.”
Mayor Elvie Sandow said Council planned to build another six homes during the next 12 months.
It would like to build a minimum of six houses every year, however a new sub-division would also be required as Council was running out of blocks.
Zala said there had always been a long waiting list for houses in Cherbourg.
Demand was strong as families expanded.
He said Cherbourg Council was also moving to address maintenance issues.
Council has appointed a housing inspection officer to conduct regular inspections.
“We want to lower the maintenance bill so we can use that money to build new houses,” Zala said.
Cherbourg Council’s works program has been kept busy lately.
Mayor Sandow said the finishing touches were being done to the town’s water treatment plant, and more work would be going ahead at the cemetery.
But the next big project Cherbourg Council would be tackling was the dump.
