More pressure is being placed on the Government to halt its plans to sell the Holetown Civic Centre to make way for a new tourism development.
While many Barbadians have been publicly contesting the proposal which was announced earlier this year, visitors also added their dissent yesterday when the “Roadside Parliament” travelled to the St James site.
German Kiki Foster was one of those speaking out against high-rise properties being constructed across the country.
“We come, of course, for the beach, the sun, the people and the sea, but we do not come for the high-rises. If all this is going to be built up with apartments and hotels, it is not going to be attractive for visitors.
“If you look at what is happening – Indigo Hotel in Hastings, a seven-floor monstrosity going up at Discovery Bay, the big Hyatt in Carlisle Bay, the building going up at Six Men’s, St Peter, and the Four Seasons. We all know the old warehouses that were torn down in the Careenage. Visitors don’t come for high-rises. If we want to have our holiday in a place with high-rises, we’d go to Spain, we can go to Mexico, it’s cheaper,” Foster said.
The scores of locals and other visitors who attended the meeting on the beach behind the Civic Centre applauded as she made her contribution.
Real estate professional Peter Thompson said although tourism was critical to Barbados’ economy, there were some misconceptions about the rhetoric surrounding the industry.
“The fact is that this is a bad idea. Of course, we rely on the tourism industry but one of the cornerstones of the tourism industry is the social licence which allows us to welcome tourists, rather than resent them. We cannot risk this profound damage to this social licence.”
He added: “People will try to tell you that investing hundreds of millions of new dollars into tourism development will make our industry more successful. This is erroneous. It is not factual and, what’s more, it is going to destroy our tourism industry. The things which make Barbados valuable as a destination are not the same things you get on Costa del Sol, the Mexican Riviera. We are 166 square miles, which means we have no latitude to overshoot our capacity.”
Businessman Andy Armstrong, who has been speaking out against the proposed development at Holetown, urged Government to advertise its plans in the media and at the site, and hold a town hall meeting.
“We want to make sure that the Government follows the law that they drafted. I am looking forward to that town hall and I want to make sure that it is not too late and that we don’t hear, ‘Oh dear, if only we had known before we would have done things differently but it’s too late.’
“I don’t think it’s too late, so let’s make sure we make our voice heard and preserve this area for Barbadians and tourists,” said Armstrong, who has lived in Holetown for 40 years and recently penned a letter to the Editor outlining his concerns.
Former president of the Democratic Labour Party, Verla De Peiza, added her voice to the conversation.
The attorney listed the buildings at Probyn Street and Fairchild Street that were demolished to expand Golden Square Freedom Park in The City, and the acquisition and demolition of Liquidation Centre on Bay Street ahead of the construction of the Hyatt hotel. She questioned why there were no efforts to preserve some buildings.
“Even when the French were looking to build out the Louvre, they did so in a tasteful manner, so as not to destroy what was already there,” De Peiza said.
She said although tourism was the country’s lifeline, there should be no contention with locals.
“Tourism is not just our main livelihood, but effectively our only livelihood. It cannot b e that we allow a circumstance where we are rubbing against tourism to the point where we are riling up Barbadians. We need to be vocal about it,” she added.
During debate in the House of Assembly last month, Senior Minister responsible for infrastructure Dr William Duguid revealed there was a proposal to relocate the police station, library, post office and other Government facilities in the complex to nearby Trents to make way for the hotel.
Following pushback from many, including Government Senator Dr Crystal Haynes, Duguid subsequently said the sale of the Holetown Civic Centre was not a done deal.
However, he declined to comment on the value of the heritage site identified as the landing spot of the first European settlers four centuries ago, adding he would not wish to prejudice negotiations with the private buyer.
Long-time St James resident and former manager of West Coast Mall, Patrick Watson, had questions for Duguid. He recalled it being said the current spot for the Civic Centre was unsafe.
“It is not safe from tsunamis, flooding or both, because where they plan to put the new Civic Centre is barely 16 metres above sea level, so that can’t be safe either. So I would like him to answer that,” Watson said.
He said although the building was not historic in the truest sense, it added to the character of the area.
“There was a fort here, so this is no longer a heritage building because this was built in my time. I watched as it was being constructed, so if it comes or goes, it wouldn’t affect me heritage-wise, but it would affect the ambience of Holetown, this quaintness. Do we want to pull this down to put something like on Miami Beach?” Watson asked.
Victor Lewis, who has been speaking out about developments at Joe’s River in St Joseph, and Nigel Newton, who spoke at last week’s “Roadside Parliament” in St Joseph, also attended the meeting.
The group is expected to visit Mullins/Gibbes in St Peter, where there are also concerns about tourism development, on March 9. (TG)
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