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COVID-19 delays Hopewell Market renovation

Published:Monday | June 8, 2020 | 12:17 AMBryan Miller/ Gleaner Reporter
In this November 1981 file photo, a few run-down stalls are seen at the Hopewell Market in Hanover. Renovation Work has begun at the facility and should be completed by August of this year.
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In this November 1981 file photo, a few run-down stalls are seen at the Hopewell Market in Hanover. Renovation Work has begun at the facility and should be completed by August of this year.

WESTERN BUREAU:

The refurbishing work on the Hopewell Market in Hanover, which should have started in April but was delayed because of the onset of COVID-19, is now likely to be completed on August 31.

The refurbishing of the facility, which is slated to cost approximately J$20 million, is being undertaken by the Hanover Municipal Corporation (HMC).

Devon Brown, the councillor for the Hopewell division, told The Gleaner that the scope of work to be carried out on the facility will be overseen by the HMC, which has secured the services of community tradesmen to carry out the task.

“Actually, we are going to do a complete fencing of the property, we are going to change the roofing, put in a new sanitary convenience, improve the ambiance at the entrance to the facility and we are going to renovate the meat market. At the completion, it should be a fairly new facility,” said Brown.

“The work should have started about a month and a half ago, but based on the whole COVID situation it was delayed to about two weeks ago, and we are anticipating that by the end of August to, say, the first week of September, all work should be completed,” added Brown.

When The Gleaner spoke to the vendors using the market and some of whom have been selling on the streets, they all expressed an eagerness to see the work completed, as they are relishing the thought of being house in a facility with an appealing look.

During a recent exercise to remove vendors from the streets across Hanover, 35 vendors were removed from Lucea and 10 from Hopewell. Several kilograms of foodstuff were seized and a number of stalls destroyed in the operation, which was carried by the HMC and the security forces.

“I want to encourage the vendors to stop the vending on the street. Everything will be in place in the new market, so there will be no need to be vending on the street,” said Brown. “They know that it is illegal to vend on the street, so with this new facility, I trust and hope that they will obey the law and utilise the facility.”