Talk with us about West Park

WHILE residents of West Trinidad are excited and relieved to finally see their dream of a green space in their area, they are hopeful for some consultation to clarify a few aspects about the project.

Sunday Newsday spoke with Stuart Dalgliesh a spokesperson for residents of Victoria Gardens which borders the land allocated for the green space. Dalgliesh, who also runs the Facebook Page West Park Savannah, said the idea of a green space in the community is an old one. The Port of Spain City Corporation, after fighting off the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) for ownership of the 23-acre spot in Diego Martin, began clearing the land in April. The green space opposite West Mall was first made public by former Port of Spain mayor and businessman Louis Lee Sing.

Dalgliesh said, "We, the residents, came up with the idea before mayor Lee Sing. We had already set up a committee to get it done, all for free. We had engineers and architects willing to donate their time and resources. The horticultural society was on board to donate trees and plants. We even had people willing to get corporate TT to donate as well, so when we heard about it from Lee Sing we were happy, and then he demitted office and well the plan collapsed."

He added there was initial plan to construct the Diego Martin Administrative Complex on the south-eastern side of the 23-acre land but it seemed that plans had changed. He said there was no consultation with residents so there was uncertainty and scepticism about what was taking place. He added that some five acres was being gifted to the Diego Martin Corporation for the construction of the administrative complex. Apart from the switching of plans both the Ministry of Works and Transport and the T&T Electricity Commission (T&TEC) are to be given part of the land, further narrowing the green space. Dalgliesh said this could all be cleared up if the relevant authorities would just speak with them.

Sunday Newsday reached out to Port of Spain Mayor Joel Martinez who said the decision to gift piece of the land to the Diego Martin Corporation stemmed from his time as a councillor on the Diego Martin council years ago. He said the entire project was being overseen by the Prime Minister's office. Sunday Newsday is yet to receive a response from the Office of the Prime Minister after questions were sent on Friday about the Dr Keith Rowley's supposed keen interest in the project.

Sunday Newsday highlighted the West Park Savannah last week and was informed that the project manager was the Urban Development Corporation of TT (Udecott). Udecott has hired Aronco Services Ltd to construct the green space, jogging track, play park, car park, and the park administration building only, according to the corporation's corporate communications manager Roxanne Stapleton-Whyms. Aronco would also conduct the drainage work and landscaping. All this is expected to be completed by March 2019, at a cost of $6.5 million.

A building at the centre of the land – an abandoned pumping station – is to remain intact, however, whether it will be renovated still remains a mystery, one Dalgliesh hopes will be cleared up with a public consultation. The pumping station was built in the 1900's by Harry Farrell. Dalgliesh said Farrell's grandson, Tony Farrell, is one of the civil engineers who volunteered to see the green space materialise.