Demolition averted
Occupants of state-owned St Andrew property get reprieve but eviction threat remains
Published:Sunday | October 22, 2023 | 12:10 AMCorey Robinson - Senior Staff Reporter
Business operators at 35 Gordon Town Road will continue living on the edge at least for another week as their St Andrew Eastern Member of Parliament (MP), Fayval Williams, discusses a way forward following the suspension of a demolition exercise at the location yesterday.
For the last two weeks, the owners said they have been operating on “death row” after receiving notice from an unnamed demolition crew, travelling under the protection of the police, that their establishments would be turned into rubble.
Among other businesses, the premises houses a furniture shop, reportedly there for more than two decades; a restaurant; a bar; a bag juice facility; and a garage.
It is also home to the Papine New Testament Church of God.
Throughout Friday night and into Saturday morning, the operators waited nervously, some reportedly sleeping at the location overnight, their hearts thumping with anxiety in anticipation of a demolition crew that would destroy their livelihood.
But instead of bulldozers and dumper trucks, they were met mid-morning by MP Williams, who informed the concerned group that the slated demolition had been put off.
“My investigation suggests that there was not enough consultation with persons. Yes, they have been given notice, but what’s next for them? We always have to consider the human factor,” she charged, adding that she sought a postponement of the demolition in order to talk with operators and other stakeholders.
“The demolition is not going to happen,” Williams stressed to the anxious business owners, noting that while she was not in support of anyone who takes over government property, discussions with the occupants must be had.
PROPERTY OWNED BY THE NATIONAL WATER COMMISSION
According to Williams, the property is owned by the National Water Commission (NWC) and the state entity is desirous of improving the area. There is also an education component, she said, explaining that the Government has also been moving speedily to expand the overpopulated nearby Papine High School, and that the land in contention would be used as part of that expansion.
“Before we get to that, though, we have to look at the people who are here and have businesses like these, and, in the interest of everyone, we also have to be concerned about their well-being; where they will go, and [what they will] do after this,” she said, adding that the National Land Agency (NLA), which has been holding the land for the NWC, was the agency that sent out the eviction notice.
“The plans for Papine High School have been on the books at the Ministry of Education for years, and I am trying to accelerate it because of the conditions there. It is bursting at the seams,” she claimed.
VALUED AT $132 MILLION
According to the occupants, many decades ago the property was leased to a businessman in the area, who then allowed them to stay there after he had relocated to a premises nearby.
Since then, more businesses have set up shop, despite various notices over the years for them to stop illegally occupying government lands.
Among the latest notices was one dated May 5, last year, which the operators – backed by Daniella Hickling, who is seeking the People’s National Party’s nod to be its representative for Eastern St Andrew – argued does not contain official stamps or names, only scribbled signatures.
They said various attempts by them to lease or own the land have been turned down by the authorities, and that the threat two weeks ago to demolish and reclaim the area was among the strongest they have witnessed.
A Sunday Gleaner source revealed that the 40,000-square meters lot was recently valued at $132 million.
While Williams is the MP for the area, the contentious plot of land is located next door to the newly built constituency office of Juliet Holness, who represents the neighbouring St Andrew East Rural constituency.
The business owners were not convinced of Williams’ reasons for their removal.
Besides, the area had long been designated for the erection of a fire station and a police station, they charged, adding that there is ample space around the grounds of Papine High for an expansion, instead of constructing over an aquifer that runs through the property.
CHURCH IN LIMBO
Among the illegal occupants of the area is a 19-year-old who has taken over his father’s bar after the elder was shot and killed in the summer of last year. He is now the sole breadwinner for his six siblings.
There is also carpenter Paul Higgins, who has been operating his shop there for 29 years. He spent much of his time on Friday night clearing out most of his tools, materials, and outstanding projects, he said.
No doubt, their operations have been greatly impacted by the looming threat.
Since the recent eviction notice, attendance at services at the New Testament Church of God has been scant as members of the congregation were unsure of what was taking place.
Pastor Ajilon Ferdinand said the latest ruckus reminded him of when access to the church was blocked because of the construction of Holness’ offices in recent years. Though he had been in dialogue with NWC representatives via email, he said he was not informed about the threat of removal two weeks ago.
“It has affected us in that nobody knows what is going on. Today might be our last official day,” he told The Sunday Gleaner. “There has been no sense of certainty, pure uneasiness, and nobody is telling us anything. Only ground reports.”
He confided, however, that the church has no official lease to the land, but that, more than a decade ago, it started operating there with an understanding between the church leaders and the NWC.
According to Hickling, she has been invited to a consultation meeting with Williams to hear the concerns of the operators, most of whom are residents of neighbouring communities.
“She (Williams) said one week to me, two weeks to you, and she told operators that she will meet in the next few weeks. So there is no clarity and there really needs to be a plan,” Hickling said of the extension period for the demolition.
She added, “Yes, the land may be slated for development, but, as you can see, the conversations with the people have not happened. And that’s where the problem is.”