Editorial | Valuing and preserving our monuments

Prime Minister Andrew Holness’ review of options for the future use of Vale Royal, once regarded as the official home of the prime minister, cannot come too soon, for the 300-year-old structure has fallen into disrepair and continues to rot day by day.

With the visible deterioration of this once-grand home, many people, including immediate neighbours in what is known as the ‘Golden Triangle’, were concerned about its future and wondered aloud how this decaying structure may affect their community aesthetically and architecturally.

It took pointed questions from Member of Parliament Julian Robinson for the prime minister to report to Parliament on what it will take to restore Vale Royal. The Office of the Prime Minister is responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the house and has clearly not done much in the last few years.

Mr Holness told the House of Representatives that among the options presented by the Jamaica National Heritage Trust (JNHT) is for the building to be repurposed to include a library and museum that would be a repository of documents and memorabilia of all the country’s prime ministers or to be used as a protocol house for visiting dignitaries. The possibilities even extend to housing an entertainment complex and building a home for future prime ministers on the land. He promised that these options will be discussed with residents.

From as far back as 2013, this important symbol of our past was diagnosed with significant structural problems and, thereafter, the home has been essentially abandoned, accelerating further degradation, including the deterioration of the decorative fretwork façade.

DISMISSED RUMOURS

And, as happens with ongoing scrutiny by members of the public, when no official information is forthcoming on matters of national importance, rumours begin to swirl and so it was with Vale Royal. Well, the prime minister has dismissed rumours about an impending housing development on the grounds as “rubbish” and reported that no such action is being contemplated.

The custodian of these important symbols of our past is the JNHT, formed in 1985. Any discussion about a national monument will necessarily touch on the wider issue of the management and maintenance of these important symbols. We see no signs of the JNHT rushing forward to protect monuments anywhere. And, in the current cost-cutting environment, we can imagine the dilemma surrounding what to do with an empty fancy house with no occupant which is falling apart.

In this cursory glance at other monuments, the Rockfort Mineral Bath in eastern Kingston surfaces. Declared a national monument in 1992, this is where natural mineral springs, reputed to have healing qualities, flow into pools at the foot of the Long Mountain. This monument on the grounds of the cement company used to exist for the well-being and enjoyment of the population, and as a tourist attraction.

The Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation is touting Rockfort Mineral Bath as one of Jamaica’s top mineral baths and spas, on its website. What it omitted to tell readers is that this spa has been closed for years. Once again, we hear nothing from the JNHT about what are the plans for this facility. And it leads one to question the stewardship of the JNHT.

HEARING EXCUSES

We are accustomed to hearing all the excuses about tough budget choices and the impact of COVID-19. There are also people who feel that there are more deserving national projects than the maintenance of a mineral bath. But these are the moments when public/private partnerships should be considered. This is the time to consider how to make these facilities earn their keep and not be a burden on the public purse. For example, should prisoners be used to maintain some of these facilities?

Those with concerns can hardly relax at listening to the prime minister, for he was short on specifics, although he did promise that there will be an allocation in the upcoming budget for Vale Royal. But we would love to have heard long-range plans to do with the maintenance and strengthening of this monument.

We cannot ignore these monuments, for they help us to understand how significant pieces of our culture fit into the country’s landscape and history.