Barbados most northerly parish is now set for a massive transformation residentially and commercially to the tune of $1.1 billion.
This was announced by Prime Minister David Thompson in Parliament on May 18th, 2010. The project which has been on the cards for three decades and is set for Nestfield in St. Lucy and will bring a new town centre for entrperneurs,vendors and retail shops.
During construction the massive undertaking will create 600 construction jobs, 300 more when complete, and boost government revenues,the venture will also mean the “significant loss” of 180 acres of land to agriculture.
While Cabinet had approved the proposed development, it will take the an estimated nine years to complete, and include a Heritage Civic Centre to in recognition of National Heroes Errol Barrow and his uncle Dr. Charles Duncan O’Neal, who lived at the Pickering estate.
According to the PM “The intention of the developers is to offer housing solutions in the vicinity of 1,161 wide-ranging residential units, a 200 unit hotel, a private day-care facility, a 350 student primary school, recreational amenities, heritage parks with supporting educational facilities, several parks and open spaces, greens, lakes, tree line boulevards, pedestrian walks and an open air amphi-theatre, a bus terminal, and a sewerage treatment plant.”
“Some of the services and amenities will include doctors offices, a health clinic, a pharmacist, professional offices, beauty and barber shop, supermarket, outdoor market, various convenience stores and a cinema,” he stated. 
The Prime Minister said there would also be a light industrial facility occupying 75,000 square feet of land and that the proposal included an agricultural component where 20 acres “will be utilised for intensive agriculture”.
“Central to the development are the green themed ambience, aesthetics and the creation of a holistic community, which will provide a safe comfortable and neighbourly environment where people can live, play, shop, commute and educate their children. The community design will allow easy access to the facilities and amenities as these will be located within a five minute walking distance from the residences, thus integrating the town centre and pickering development,” he stated.
Thompson said too that the development “runs parallel to the PDP (Physical Development Plan) since envisaged within the project is the development of a town centre on 200,000 square feet of commercial space”.
“Local centres are part of our hierarchy of settlements aimed at rationalising and ordering population growth across the island and comprise the basic commercial and institutional amenities such as a church, post office, police station, and gas station. Provision will be made for affordable housing for low and middle income earners and the size for these residential units will compare favourably with other comparable residential units,” he said.
