Take a tour of Glendairy Prison on the 29 October 2016 when it was opened to the public…… http://caribpix.net/special%20features%202016/Glendairyprison/
Article below by Marlon Madden first published on
August 25, 2021 – Barbados Today news publication.
Glendairy earmarked for tourism as Belle squatters’ land rezoned
The site of the old Glendairy Prison is to be developed into a major tourism project led by the Barbados Tourism Investment Inc. (BTI) and involving local investors, Parliament was told Tuesday, but Opposition Leader Bishop Joseph Atherley has offered alternative ideas for the old jail.
Lawmakers have also announced that the zone one classification of the nearby Bellevue and the Belle communities is to be changed to allow squatters the opportunity to own and develop the spots they have been occupying for decades.
The disclosures came as the House of Assembly passed a resolution to vest the more than 9.296 hectares (22.7 acres) of land containing the old prison to the BTI for a tourism related development.
The planned transformation of the prison, which was built in the 1854, comes years after much talk by successive administrations about its possible use after a riot-driven fire closed it in 2005.
Introducing the resolution, Minister of Housing, Lands and Maintenance Dr William Duguid suggested a dual track of tourism and housing development in the area.
“I understand that area will no longer be a zone one area and then development will be permissible in that area. That would redound not only to the benefit of those at Glendairy Prison but also to all of those in the surrounding community,” he said.
“Both at Bellevue and the Belle, all of the work to be done out there to put those people without title in a right frame is being worked on and is being given greatest attention . . . . In fact, the Prime Minister has reiterated that it must be given an absolute priority for both of those locations.”
Minister for Water Resources Charles Griffith, indicating that the Glendairy development was part of a wider repurposing effort being undertaken by Government, said work has already started in the Belle and other communities to determine the kind of septic system that can be put in place.
“We have sent out requests for proposal with respect to finding solution to that particular locale. We believe that particular solution can be replicated in [other] constituencies. It is now a priority project,” said Griffith.
“It is expected that early next month those particular requests for proposal will be looked at and a decision will be made for design built service sewage treatment plant within that particular locale (the Belle). It will entail the installation of individual communal septic tanks with filter technology. This was recommended by the Environmental Protection Department.”
Griffith said the submission and approval for the final design was expected to take about 12 weeks while the construction, installation and testing would then take about 11.5 months.
“We are on that particular road as it relates to resolution for those persons in the Belle, Bellevue and Bailey Alley,” he added.
Meantime, urging Barbadians to get involved in the “rejuvenation” of the old prison, Duguid said the reason it was being vested in the BTI was because of that agency’s vast experience in redevelopment initiatives.
“They did the (Oistins) Bay Garden . . . and it has been a tremendous upliftment,” he said.
Glendairy Prison, now a haven for rodents and a police storage area for vehicles, was decommissioned in late 2016. While no decision has yet been made on what exactly the location will be used for, Duguid touted the idea of it being used for heritage tourism to offer tours, or for it to be transformed into a similar setting as that of the Oistins Bay Garden in Christ Church.
In his contribution to the debate, Bishop Atherley rejected the idea of developing the 1854-built prison for heritage tourism, instead suggesting that the old prison be turned into a juvenile offenders’ halfway house.
Pointing to the prison’s small size, which was to comfortably accommodate up to 300 inmates but was housing up to 1 000 at some point, Bishop Atherley said greater consideration needed to be given to putting some people in a “halfway house” instead of sending them to jail.
He said Government and faith-based organizations could join forces to establish such a facility.
“So here is the opportunity perhaps to use the facility as a halfway house,” he said. “We need to be able to see it possible, as the country moves forward, to put investment into areas that can help us to correct some of these things we have not been getting right.
“A rehabilitation centre with a strong skills development component – this is a site that is big and spacious enough that could be used for something like that.”
Bishop Atherley also suggested the old prison could be considered for use as a “young offenders’ institution” instead of housing those first-time juvenile offenders at Dodds with hardened criminals.
“A young offenders’ institution is needed in Barbados. That has long been mooted and we are struggling with the facilities for the Girls Industrial School and the young male facility, and here is a space perhaps we can use to build the type of facility that would allow for proper treatment of the behaviour exhibited by those who are young… and perhaps ill-advised in their action and fall afoul of the law,” he said.
Failing that, said the People’s Party for Democracy leader, the Mia Mottley administration could consider using Glendairy to provide temporary relief housing for fire and hurricane victims.
“We still don’t have that relief housing available to us in Barbados and people who are faced with misfortune sometimes have to struggle to find alternative accommodation,” he said. “Here is a space where perhaps a specific deliberate project could be undertaken to provide temporary and relief housing to those who may need that from time to time.”
Bishop Atherley dismissed the idea that the old prison should be transformed into a heritage tourism site or a prison museum, saying it did not have the kind of fame that would attract a significant number of visitors.
He also brushed aside the idea of the Station Hill, St Michael location being used as a Crop Over venue, suggesting that this would produce too much noise that would disturb residents in several communities.
“Certainly it could be a site for craft and cultural enterprises and other activities of a less intrusive and less impactful character with respect to noise. If that is the case, I support that,” he said.
(marlonmadden@barbadostoday)
