A Medical Centre With Patient Housing: Barbados Anglicans Plan to Develop 2.5 Acres of Church Land

• Barbados Diocesan Trustees plan to develop more than two and a half acres at Henry’s Lane, St Michael
• The project would provide medical services and housing for patients needing specialised care
• Plans have gone to the Planning and Development Department
• The trustees also handed over a refurbished chapel as a youth and music centre

The Anglican Church in Barbados is preparing to put another piece of its land to work. The Barbados Diocesan Trustees plan to develop more than two and a half acres at Henry’s Lane in St Michael into what was described as “a facility providing medical services as well as housing for patients requiring specialised care,” The Bajan Reporter said in September 2026.

Adrian Elcock, chairman of the trustees, said the plans had already been submitted to the Planning and Development Department. The trustees said they were also working to create investment opportunities for members of the Anglican community, although no cost or investment details were published.

The announcement came at a ceremony where the trustees handed over the refurbished St Gabriel chapel, which had fallen into disrepair. Elcock handed the keys to the Bishop of Barbados, the Rt Rev Michael Maxwell. The building has been turned into a multi-purpose space, with a small chapel for worship, a music room for students of St Gabriel’s School and a media centre with a recording studio. Bishop Maxwell said the diocese would move ahead with plans to fully equip the recording and radio studio.

The chapel is also set to become a centre for music teaching for young people. Peter Williams, founder of Suzuki Strings, said he was keen to make the restored building his new headquarters and to teach violin to local youth. Those present included Canon Anthony Harewood, Tyrone Branch, the project manager, trustees Judith Miller, Clennell Goodman and Lisa Padmore, and Archdeacon Von Watson.

The Barbados diocese has already floated renting land to farmers and selling plots to long-time tenants, and this project shows church land being put to use for health care and housing rather than simply sold. Jamaica’s churches also hold large amounts of land, and the idea of turning church property into care facilities and patient housing, while giving church members a chance to invest, is one that Jamaican denominations, returnees and diaspora investors could study closely as the island’s population ages.

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