Memorandum submitted by James E Skerritt
RE: THE
GOVERNMENT OF
MONTSERRAT PROPOSALS
TO BUILD
A HOME
FOR INDIGENT
AND THE
MENTALLY CHALLENGED
AT SWEENEY'S
VILLAGE, ST
JOHNS, MONTSERRAT
There are objections already lodged by the residents
of the above residential area. I am writing on behalf of my parents
Joseph and Mary Skerritt, whose home is adjacent to the proposed
project. My parents' property has been there for 30 years. Both
of them spent most of their adult lives living and working in
England. Having retired and returned to Montserrat in 1991 their
peaceful hopes were ruined by the natural disasters that have
occurred on the island. They have however remained loyal inhabitants
of the island.
After the volcano erupted a temporary shelter
was constructed on the site to help those made homeless. The plot
of land in question is not very large. It has now been proposed
to build a permanent home to house the Indigent and Mentally Challenged
people of the island.
Having been to Montserrat to visit my parents
and seen the site, my thoughts are that the location chosen does
not lend much to the idea of long term planning. I do not think
the site fits the purpose. I wonder does the department responsible
for health really understand the needs of the people they are
trying to help.
It is more then 12 years since the start of
the volcanic activity, the time for short-term "quick fixes"
has long passed. It would appear that the Government of Montserrat
is not giving much thought to all concerned, ie the residents
of Sweeney who have voted for them and pay taxes to them, and
the unfortunate people who are probably not in a position to raise
this issue themselves.
There was never any formal notification about
the plans; in fact the first my parents knew of the project was
by passing conversation. Though the matter has been ongoing from
the middle of last year it was not until I pointed out, that the
residents should be given formal notification of such a project
that a Notice was placed on the site at the end of November. Information
is not readily available from the Planning Department as there
is nothing posted via their website. No further information has
been forthcoming since.
The lack of transparency I have seen in this
matter is of much concern, as it indicates the views of the public
would not be appreciated. I welcome any comments.
19 January 2008
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