Trelawny Municipal Corporation Clamps Down On Illegal Businesses Along Highway
By: , June 7, 2024
Photo: Sharon Earle
Chairman of the Trelawny Municipal Corporation (TMC) and Mayor of Falmouth, Councillor Collen Gager (left), announces measures to clamp down on illegal business operators along the North Coast Highway, during a meeting on Wednesday (June 5) at the Corporation’s location in Falmouth. The Mayor is joined by Chief Executive Officer of the TMC, Winston Palmer; and Councillor for the Falmouth Division, Garth Wilkinson.The Full Story
MONTEGO BAY, June 7 (JIS):
Chairman of the Trelawny Municipal Corporation (TMC) and Mayor of Falmouth, Councillor Collen Gager, has announced a multi-agency and departmental operation targeted at illegal businesses operating along the North Coast Highway.
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday (June 5) at the Corporation’s location in Falmouth, Mayor Gager said the operation includes the Roads and Works and Public Health Departments of the TMC, the police, the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA), and the National Works Agency (NWA).
He said the TMC is taking the approach in response to the mushrooming of illegal businesses along the highway in recent months and particularly in the vicinity of accident hotspots at Coopers Pen and Rock, despite efforts of the Corporation to curtail these activities.
Mayor Gager said it is the NWA that grants permits for businesses to operate along the highway and only after specific guidelines are met.
He indicated that none of the existing structures meet any of the guidelines, including that all buildings must be located at least 65 feet off the highway.
Consequently, notices have been served on all operators, noting that the Parish Court has ordered the demolition of one stall.
“We have engaged our lawyers in this regard to proceed with the matter in a bid to have compliance with the law, which requires that the structure be removed.
“We have served notices [on] all the folks who have set up any sort of building there… There is one building that [the owner] was taken to court by the Trelawny Municipal Corporation and the judge has made his ruling and has ordered that the building be demolished by the owner,” Mayor Gager pointed out.
He said that no single offender is being targeted in the operation, noting that “the TMC is really cleaning and protecting the highway”.
In February 2023, Mayor Gager warned of a pending clampdown on illegal street vending in the resort town and outlying areas.
He had expressed concern about the unsightly appearance of the stalls, the unsafe situation they pose and the insanitary practices associated with their operation.