Bostic for Hyatt Hotel
While he is happy to see some development coming to the City of Bridgetown in the form of the Hyatt Hotel, Member of Parliament for The City, Jeffrey Bostic, has noted that there are still a number of lingering questions he wants answered.
Whilst making his contribution to the Budget debate in the House of Assembly this week, Bostic lamented the fact that as the constituency representative for The City, he has not been included in any of the talks surrounding the construction of the Hyatt Hotel, and is not privy to key information about the project.
“I try very hard not to be hypocritical and to be true to myself. I spent a lot of time in here during debates, asking for things to revitalise the City of Bridgetown. I have asked for a hotel to be located in the City of Bridgetown, because I think that it is a good thing and that it is necessary and that is the truth.
“And I am not going to come at this point in time and say that we do not need the Hyatt or that we do not need a hotel. I, Jeffrey Bostic, Member of Parliament for the City of Bridgetown, I welcome and support the development within the City of Bridgetown,” the MP commented.
“I also have to say that I know that development comes at a cost. I also know that development must not come at any and all costs.
“There are several things associated with this project that I did not know. I was following the media... following one of the advocates against this project, and I personally like to have facts before I get involved in discussion,” he added.
“My concern – and I reiterate I have nothing against the development – but there are some issues that we ought to be concerned about, and some discussions we ought to obtain.
“I am not an engineer, but I don’t know, for example, what the impact of pile driving for a 15 storey hotel would be on the structures in the area, like the Bethel church, like the Olympic Theatre, like the London Bourne Towers, that I was advised was built on swampy ground, and really had some foundational issues when that was constructed.
“I do not know, I am just asking and I am just urging the Honourable Chamber to consider these things,” he further stated.
Bostic also queried what the impact will be on the sewerage system, in an already overload area.
“Those are issues that I think we need to look at, and not only with an environmental assessment on the area, but a social impact assessment as well.
“We also have to take into consideration the impact of climate change and sea level rise, in terms of doing any coastal developments going forward, because this is a serious thing,” the City MP concluded. (RSM)