CMO concerned about planned housing development

The St. Thomas Health Department has laid down strict conditions for a proposed housing project which has been earmarked for the relocation of residents from sections of the Corporate Area and St. Catherine to West Albion in the parish.

Dr. D'Oyen Smith, Chief Medical Officer of Health for St. Thomas, said at the regular monthly meeting of the St. Thomas Parish Council on Thursday, that there was no objection to the relocation plans.

However, he pointed out that an appropriate sewage treatment system must be put in place.

Dr. Smith said that steps must be also taken to protect the area's water shed.

The proposed Housing Project at West Albion is expected to accommodate 183 families who were displaced by flooding.

Council wants NWA to repair roads

In the meantime, the St. Thomas Parish Council has expressed its displeasure at the approach of the National Works Agency (NWA) over its approach in carrying out repairs to parish council roads.

The issue arose from an incident in which the NWA reportedly removed silt and deposited it on the Trinityville Baptist Church grounds.

The Parish Council said it had to pay to have the silt removed.

The councillors say while they are happy that the NWA was carrying out work on the infrastructure, the Superintendent of Roads and Works was the custodian of the Council's roads and it was distasteful for the Works Agency to continue to ignore that fact.

They insisted that the St. Thomas Parish Council should form an integral part of the repairing of roads.