By Telesha Ramnarine

GEORGETOWN Town Clerk Royston King has revealed that the piece of land owned by the City Council and going by the name the ‘Island’ at Industrial Site will soon be made into a park for the benefit of children and senior citizens.Illegally been fenced off by business people for many years, this piece of City Council real estate had been occupied by trailers, large containers and derelict vehicles. In fact, when the City Council recently demanded that the ‘Island’ be cleared, a ‘junkie’ was seen exiting one of the containers, prompting those in the area to poke fun at him for now being homeless.

“It’s a replication of what we’re doing on the Merriman’s Mall,” King told the Chronicle on the sidelines of a meeting organised at City Hall to formally introduce City Councillors to officers of the Council.

“In another three to four weeks, you will see a complete transformation of that area. In another week, we will begin works on the park. We plan to put in swings, plant trees, we want to resurface the road, dig the drains, beautify the round around, and make it into a community park where children and seniors can go in the cool of the day and sit, think, play, release their tensions.

“You have to remember that all these spaces are collectively owned by citizens. We are the custodians, and the citizens expect us to protect their interests by ensuring the integrity of these spaces,” King said.

He said the Council was very happy that those Industrial Site businesses have complied with orders to remove the derelict vehicles and containers from the area.

“There is no trailer, vehicle or derelict material parked here. I’m very happy that those persons who were engaged in such poor environmental negative practices have been cooperating with the Council.”

A team from the Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC), including King and Chief Constable Andrew Foo, recently swooped down on business owners in the area, determined not to extend the 48-hour ultimatum they had earlier given business persons.

The businesses, including Distribution Services Limited (DSL), E-Networks and Guytrac, were warned to remove their derelict vehicles, containers and trailers occupying space belonging to the City Council, or have them cut in manageable sizes and removed to the Council’s incinerator compound on Princes Street, Georgetown.

King had expressed concern that the containers were being used as seclusion zones for people who were perhaps intent on carrying out criminal activities.

“And we cannot accept that. It is unfair, and therefore we are taking action,” he had said.

He offered that the environment for those toddlers who attend the city’s daycare was completely unhealthy.

“And I am very surprised that big businesses are not particularly interested in the welfare and health of our children and those who frequent our daycare,” he revealed.

The containers and trailers in question were parked in a manner that was dangerous to life and limb, King had reported, and the frequent movement of the trailers destroyed the roads, causing depression, which in turn led to accumulation of water and other environmental issues.

The Town Clerk also observed that the trailers gave off radioactive emissions, which were not healthy to those children and parents of the daycare, as well as all others who were in the area.