NWA to demolish Constant Spring market after Supreme Court lifts injunction

Danae Hyman, Online Reporter

The way has been cleared for the Constant Spring market in Manor Park, St Andrew to be demolished to facilitate expansion works on Constant Spring Road.

The Supreme Court today lifted the temporary injunction preventing the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC) from forcibly removing vendors at the Constant Spring Market.

Attorney-at-law Bert Samuels, who represented the vendors, confirmed to The Gleaner today that the court refused to grant any further injunctions, paving the way for the KSAMC to evict market vendors.

“Justice Pusey refused the injunction on the basis that the balance of convenience was in favour of the KSAMC. She said if there was a lack of due process, there was damages could take care of it,” Samuels said.

The temporary injunction was imposed by the Supreme Court after a vendor, Nichol Sudiene, made an application on the basis that the action by the KSAMC to evict him from the market breached his constitutional rights as a licensee on the property.

Vendors were previously given a March 31, 2018 eviction date, but that was later extended to September 30, 2018.

Kingston Mayor Delroy Williams said the market will now be handed over to the NWA to undertake the demolition as part of the multi-billion dollar upgrade works along the Constant Spring Road corridor.

“Most of the vendors have left already and others are preparing to leave by this weekend. We now hope to hand over the building to the National Works Agency by March 8 because I know it is holding up the work they are trying to do,” the mayor said.

“We however also have an interest in trying to complete the road improvement there to try and return Kingston and that section of the municipality to normalcy," he added.

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