The Department of Disaster Management, with the financial support of the Governor’s Office, recently produced three DVDs for prospective home owners, contractors and property developers, providing them with a useful guide to the building process.

Produced using local and regional players and experts and set against the beautiful, yet fragile, environment of the Virgin Islands, the DVDs highlight building legislation that is relevant to homeowners with a complete guide to prepare them for every step of the building process. They also give an overview of safer building methods, information on more modern means of building and land development and various steps necessary to complete an impact assessment for large scale development.

Land owners considering constructing their homes are advised to obtain a copy of the Homeowners Guide to Building in the Virgin Islands, which can be purchased at a minimal cost of $10. For contractors, it is recommended that they purchase a copy of the DVD titled “Better Construction Methods” which is being sold at $15 per copy and for large scale developers the entire development process has been outlined on the DVD titled “Property Development in the Virgin Islands“ sold at a cost of $20 per copy.

 Information and Education Manager, Mr. Linton Leonard underscored the importance of the information provided on the DVDs and encouraged everyone to secure their copies today.  He expressed the need for homeowners to better understand the building process and for them to select the right building professionals to construct their homes and secure their investment. 

Mr. Leonard stated that “as development expands in our islands so too will be the need for qualified and experienced contractors.  Contractors who have taken the Safer Building Courses at HLSCC are in a better position to understand the building challenges in the VI and how these can be addressed through safer construction methods. The DVD on Better Construction Methods complements this training and is a handy guide for contractors to refer to when necessary.”  

Every country has challenges in getting developers to understand and appreciate its building and development processes.  Through these DVDs and in particular the one targeting large scale development, Government hopes to inform and educate persons wishing to undertake development in the Territory.

Copies of all three DVDs can be obtained at the Department of Disaster Management or at the Town and Country Planning Department. 

The production of the informational DVDs constitutes part of the efforts by the DDM to encourage proper building practices to mitigate against property destruction that could result from hazard impacts.