St. Catherine Parish Council to Review Development Plan for Old Harbour Fishing Village

The development plan for the Old Harbour fishing village is expected to go before the St. Catherine Parish Council by month-end.
Secretary/Manager at the Council, Michael Morris, told JIS News that a draft plan had been presented to the many stakeholders in the parish and in Central Government at the beginning of April, for their comments.
The plan, with inputs from the Ministry of Health and the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), is a guide for the type of development to be undertaken in the area.
The Secretary/Manager explained that for some time now, the Parish Development Committee had decided to assume responsibility for the development, with particular emphasis on the disorganised settlement of the area.
“When the draft plan is returned to us by April 28, we will begin the third phase which is to take it to the communities by way of town meetings to get their views first-hand. Thereafter, we will be forwarding it to the relevant agencies for their implementation,” Mr. Morris said. One major concern to the development process is the inadequate disposal of waste, including solid waste. “All of these things will be taken care of, and there will be no use of pits,” he said. “We just want to start the dialogue with the stakeholders in the affected area for the people there and the Community Development Committee (CDC) to buy into it, as extra effort will be made that they are not left out of the process,” Mr. Morris added.
He said that the St. Catherine Parish Council would speed up the process before the hurricane season begins in June, “so that a disaster plan can be made out for the residents in the area”. Mr. Morris pointed out that three town meetings would be held with the residents to update them on all the developments taking place.