TPDCo to erect storyboards in Hanover

WESTERN BUREAU:

The Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo), an agency of the Ministry of Tourism, has applied to the Hanover Municipal Corporation (HMC) for permission to implement a project in that parish, aimed at providing educational value through information, on heritage sites in the parish.

Dubbed: ‘Heritage Tourism Storyboard Project’, the project involves the placing of storyboards at four selected locations across the parish, which, according to the TPDCo correspondence to the HMC, possess significant heritage value. The four locations that have been selected for the placing of the storyboards in Hanover are at the Tryall Water Wheel and Kenilworth in eastern Hanover, along with Fort Charlotte and Blenheim, the birthplace of Sir Alexander Bustamante, in western Hanover.

All seven councillors in the HMC have given their approval for the project, through the passing of a resolution for same, especially in light of the ongoing efforts in that agency to clean up and beautify the parish through works being carried out in the main towns.

AN EDUCATIONAL PROJECT

Mayor of Lucea and chairman of the HMC, Sheridan Samuels, described the project as an educational one that will help to highlight the historic areas across the parish.

“A project of this nature will only stand to the benefit of the many tourists and locals alike, who visit the many scenic and historic sites across the parish, with a view to becoming cognisant of the history of the parish,” he stated.

He added that he is sure that the benefits of the project to the parish will be equally recognised by all Hanoverians.

Checks with the TPDCo about the project reveal that the parish of Hanover will become the 11th parish to have storyboards erected within its boundaries.

In a written communiqué, coordinator for Community Awareness at TPDCo, Marline Stephenson Dalley, explained to The Gleaner that the four storyboards that will be constructed across Hanover will cost an estimated $1.1 million each.

“The project will be implemented within a month following the written approval from the Hanover Municipal Corporation, the statement explained.

It was further pointed out, in the statement, that the TPDCo has already completed the historical research in partnership with the Jamaica National Heritage Trust, and has secured reproduction rights for the historical images that will be utilised on each storyboard to be erected in Hanover.

PROTECTING OUR CULTURAL HERITAGE

The TPDCo lists the benefits from the placement of the storyboards as promoting and protecting aspects of Jamaica’s natural and cultural heritage value and inspiring civic pride; promoting cultural retention and preservation; increasing earning potential of community members through increased tourist visits; increasing the general aesthetic value of heritage sites and spaces; increasing the educational value afforded by heritage sites and spaces; and to provide pertinent information on heritage sites and spaces to aid in self-guided tours.