St. Thomas folk not caving in
Publication: Weekend Nation
Paper Section And Page: 17
Paper Date: Fri, Feb 9, 2001
Byline: by Terry Ally
RESIDENTS of Sturges, Welchman Hall, Allen View and surrounding areas in St. Thomas, are hopping mad over proposals to reclassify their land from a Zone Four to a Zone One.
Beresford Blackman said the action reduced the possibility of the residents to earn, to develop their land, and to get a good sale price. He said some of the land was owned by Barbadians abroad who were planning to return, build a home, and retire. This could not now happen.
"If we cannot earn at the same level why should we pay the same level of taxes?" he asked, during the townhall meeting Wednesday night.
He suggested joint ownership of the caves where people could purchase shares commensurate with the amount of land they own. Also at issue was whether the cave was not the property of the people who owned land on the surface.
"I know my land extends north, south, east, and west, but how far down does it go, and won't you have to pay me royalties?" asked one woman.
Neither Chief Town Planner Mark Cummins nor project manager of the Environmental Special Projects Unit, Steve Devonish, could answer.
When a Weekend Nation team visited the area yesterday, the news was spreading and people were not pleased.
Carlisle Carrington, of Allen View, said that in the mid-1970s Government compulsorily acquired 17 000 square feet of his grandmother's property where speleologist Ole Sorenson first entered the cave.
He said he was promised royalties but 26 years later not a single cent has been paid in either royalties or compensation for the compulsory acquisition. Carrington does not accept the explanation for the proposed reclassification.
"They are trying to get all the small people out and then build a multi-million dollar corporation or a development that they will call Harrison Cave Heights or Terrace," he suggested.
Prince Albert Lemon, 87, another resident of Allen View, only shook his head and muttered: "That is hard. I feel bad", when he heard of the proposed reclassification. He has several
house spots which he is leaving for his 16 children and was devastated to learn that they would not be able to build if the proposal goes through.
"I work hard for what I have, loading cane at three cents a ton on a truck, and this is what I get?" asked Lemon.
A generator was placed on his property with cables running underground into the cave for over two decades but he was never compensated him until recently at just over $200 per year.
Gladstone Alleyne, 78, was very upset and felt that they should be compensated. Another resident, who rears animals, lamented that the proposed measure was "stifling".
"What are you sending us to do? People do not mind working with the cave but they have to put a system in place so we can continue to make a living," said the young man who declined to be named.
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