FWTP donates park benches to Watson Taylor Park

Western Bureau:

Two park benches, valued at more than US$1,000, have been installed at Watson Taylor Park in Lucea, Hanover, courtesy of the Friends of Watson Taylor Park (FWTP), a new non-profit, charitable organisation, consisting of local Hanoverians and members of the diaspora, who are originally from the parish.

The new concrete benches were erected on the cliff side of the seven-and-a-half-acre sporting and beach facility, which features an office complex, beach area, football field, and concrete basketball/netball courts.

Watson Taylor Park was once the premier sporting facility in Hanover, but over recent years, the facility, which was donated by Arthur Wesley Watson Taylor to the residents of the western parish in 1929, had fallen into disrepair, despite being under the management of the Hanover Municipal Corporation (HMC).

“The municipal corporation has not been doing a good job in maintaining this facility, despite the great potential that it has,” said custos of Hanover, Dr David Stair, who brought greetings at the commissioning of the benches.

“I would like to see the park properly developed into a facility that the rest of Jamaica would envy.”

“I am very glad that the FWTP has been formed by these persons who have enjoyed the use of the facility in the past and have seen the need to transform the facility now into something that the young people of Hanover can enjoy, and even pass it on to the younger generation,” added Stair.

Stair, who is a son of Hanover, promised his full support for the continued improvement of the facility, adding that the parish can certainly do much better than what is happening at present.

“I really think that the FWTP should take over the management and operations of this entity,” said Stair, noting that the HMC might not have the time, or the funds, to do all that is necessary for the proper upkeep of the facility. “The people of the parish may lose the comforts of the facility in the future if it is not properly maintained.”

Committed

Deputy Mayor of Lucea, Andria Dehaney-Grant, while acknowledging that the HMC might not be at its best in terms of its capacity to maintain the park, committed to supporting the work of FWTP to improve the conditions at the facility, which hosted both parish football and cricket in the past.

“I am giving a promise that, with the FWTP taking on this task to join with us (the HMC) to ensure that this park becomes a prime venue for our people, we will give whatever is possible, to ensure that it is properly maintained and is of high standard,” said Dehaney-Grant. “I am sure the work of the FWTP will not go unnoticed by the people in the parish.”

John Campbell, a board member at the FWTP, told The Gleaner that the commissioning of the benches is the first of several initiatives the group plans to execute at the complex.

“The intention first and foremost is the try to mobilise resources, for the other projects that we have in mind,” said Grant. “We have both short-term and long-term project implementation plans for the facility, but it will be done in phases.

“The ultimate goal of the FWTP organisation is to at least have a say in how the facility is managed, so we will be having discussions with the HMC,” added Grant.