Informal settlers at Cooper's Pen, Trelawny, served notices to move

Residents who have set up an informal settlement on government lands in Coopers Pen, Trelawny, have been served notices to demolish the dwellings and relocate.

Superintendent in charge of the Trelawny police, Winston Milton, told The Gleaner that the occupiers were mainly employed during the construction phase of the RIU Palace Aquarelle hotel. During the construction, 700 people from across Jamaica were employed.

"Now that the hotel is opened these construction workers must seek permanent homes or go back to their original place of residence," Milton said.

Milton said there are also concerns about sanitary conditions in the area, with the Trelawny Municipal Corporation and the Trelawny Health Department also involved in the move to have the residents relocate.

"The police is very aware of what can happen if left to grow. From our experience, criminality increases in informal settlements. We are appealing to these persons to remove or face having their buildings demolished," he said.

- Leon Jackson

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