Unapproved developments threaten Parotee - Investors ignore parish council stop orders
Published:Saturday | June 4, 2011 | 12:00 AM
André Gordon, Gleaner Writer
PAROTTEE, St Elizabeth:
WITH SIX major storms predicted for the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season, which officially began on Wednesday, residents of the vulnerable community of Parottee are already in panic mode.
The community is located along a five-mile strip of land on the southeastern reaches of Black River that runs between the Walla Wash Pond on one side and the sea on the other. Whenever it rains for sustained periods, severe flooding occurs, displacing the small population and damaging property.
The original residents of Parottee have pointed the finger at new developers for this problem. "We never had this level of flooding in Parottee before these developments started," said Pauline Belle, president of the Parottee Citizens' Association (PCA).
"I am concerned because most of the development is taking place along the beachside, and that is where the wetland is," she said.
"We have been lobbying the parish council for many years, yet development continues both in the pond and on the beachside of the community. We are tired of this situation since, when it rains, we have three feet of water on the road and many residents are affected," Belle added.
Despite a letter dated October 10, 2010 from Mayor of Black River Jeremy Palmer disclosing that there was a ban on development in the area until a study was done by the National Environment and Planning Agency to ascertain the cause of flooding, development activities have continued in the sensitive ecosystem to the disgust of the citizens association.
Jeannot McCain, vice-president of the PCA, agrees with Belle, but believes the absence of appropriate drainage is germane to the flooding problem being experienced in the area. According to McCain, when the road was built, the engineers did not put in adequate drainage to allow water to drain from the side with the pond to the sea.
"They did not maintain the natural drainage pathways and, in many cases, the water had to find other pathways to the sea ... . This results in the flooding we face since the water has nowhere to go," McCain pointed out.
Stop orders ignored
The new director of planning at the St Elizabeth Parish Council, Rowan Blake, said the problems in Parottee are of serious concern to the council.
"We have a number of stop notices in the area, but a number of illegal construction has been taking place on the vulnerable strip of land, and the council has taken the decision to halt approvals for that area," reported Blake.
He also agrees with the citizens association as it relates to the unapproved developments in the area. "Most of the developments, which are under way in the area are commercial projects being undertaken by private investors primarily for tourism purposes," he said.
Blake noted that most of these developments are happening within the wetland and, in many cases, dumping activities are conducted in the process.
When asked about solutions to developmental problems in Parottee and other similar communities in the parish, Blake was quick to point to the role of information.
"We need public-education programmes, which will help residents to identify when incorrect building practices are taking place in their community, and report them to the parish council," he said. "We also hope unsuspecting overseas land buyers will know before they purchase land from speculators and then arrive in Jamaica to realise that these lands are designated no-build zones," Blake added.