Missed the mark

Former Prime Minister, now Independent Member of Parliament (MP), Owen Arthur, has expressed disappoint-ment that Government missed an “enormous opportunity” to continue the development of Speightstown, as potentially the centre for heritage tourism in this country.

He made the comments while contributing to the debate in the House of Assembly yesterday morning, to vest land in Speightstown, St. Peter, known as Fort Denmark in the National Housing Corporation (NHC), contending that Speightstown has a tremendous history and heritage that can be translated into assets for development.

“The lack of vibrancy in the town, which has crept in of late, could be reversed and redressed. My Administration designated Speightstown as a special development area and I am disappointed that in recent times, the capacity to make things happen under the Special Development Areas legislation is not being acted upon,” he said.

Arthur made the point as he maintained that there is still great scope for Speightstown to remain the capital of the North, but he acknowledged that the town has been negatively affected by the emergence of Warrens as a major shopping area. While suggesting that Warrens should be declared a city in its own right, he said that development has hurt Speightstown as it provides persons with the opportunity to engage in a wider range of shopping.

“It has therefore to be acknowledged that unless there is a very proactive attempt to revive the town and bring new life to it, and make more use of the existing assets and build new ones, the slow decay of Speightstown will continue,” he warned.

Referring to the Fort Denmark property, which he noted is prime beachfront land, Arthur questioned why it was being placed at the disposal of the NHC and not the Barbados Tourism Investment Inc. (BTII), which he argued would be better placed to develop the property for tourism purposes. He made the point while noting that the Government over which he presided, had intended to construct a cruise facility at Fort Denmark to accommodate smaller cruise ships and take some of the pressure off the Bridgetown Port and bring back vibrancy to Speightstown.

He added that while he is not opposed to the use of the site, as the last remaining area of land of that nature on the West Coast of Barbados, it must be properly developed so it could be of benefit to the country. As such, he is adamant that the development of Fort Denmark as “a centre for cruise and related activities” would make a better use of the land, than having it in the Ministry of Housing and Lands.

“Bridgetown is very heavily congested, they have a lot of cruises; but Speightstown also lends itself to that, it was also a port. Speightstown was also known for its jetties and building another jetty at Fort Denmark and bringing cruises to the North was part of a concept that I think ought to be applied. Subject to its being proven to be physically possible and again subject to its financial viability, I really believe that having this under the BTII and its link to cruise, and its link to heritage tourism, is far better than having it vested in the National Housing Corporation,” he said.

His comments came as he warned that unless the “architectural vernacular” of any proposed housing development at Fort Denmark fits within a “totally heritage concept”, then it would be going against even what is outlined in the Physical Development Plan for Speightstown. (JRT)

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