‘St Bess’ Parish Council to meet with vendors

The St. Elizabeth parish council says it will be meeting with vendors today following a fire that gutted the Santa Cruz arcade on Sunday.



The fire destroyed more than 30 shops and stalls at the arcade leaving millions of dollars in damage.



Yesterday, scores of vendors staged a protest following a decision by the parish Council to relocate them.



But, mayor of Black River, Jeremy Palmer says the council has decided to go ahead with plans to relocate the vendors to the market.



Mr. Palmer says the council had always planned to relocate the vendors, but now it will be fast tracked.



He says the council will be using today’s meeting to get the support of the vendors for the proposed relocation as well as for airing their concerns.



The vendors are claiming that the proposed location, near the Baptist church in the town, is not a suitable one.



Several vendors who have been affected by the fire have also called for the parish council to provide help.