St Joseph MP urges gov’t not to rule out housing development in areas prone to land slippage

The Member of Parliament for St Joseph has beseeched the government of which he is part not to write off development in infrastructurally fragile areas, including the Scotland District, since this approach could wipe out communities.

Dale Marshall made the plea as he made a case for a return to chattel house construction in places where the ecological systems may not be able to sustain heavy brick structures.

He told the House of Assembly on Tuesday that adopting the attitude of an automatic “no” to applications for development in rural areas is likely to kill the dreams of many constituents and drain the communities of life.

“It’s not about maintaining the voting population, it is about maintaining societies,” the MP told the Lower Chamber during debate on a resolution to approve the Barbados Physical Development Plan (PDP) as amended in 2023. “If we do not make sure that residents in those areas continue to live in our rural areas, our Scotland District areas, those communities will die.”

He pointed to Bridgetown which he said has had this experience where residents left or were relocated and the town “died”.

Marshall said that while he supported the changes to the plan, rural communities such as that which he represents must be treated “vastly differently” to those in the urban corridor of the island. Noting that the Scotland District accounts for one-fifth of Barbados’ land space, he pointed out that it is also the most “fragile” part of our environment.

“The things that make it most attractive are also the things that represent the greatest risks,” he said.

During his contribution, the Attorney General also suggested that given the available technological expertise, chattel houses should be considered for areas plagued by land slippage.

Making it clear that he was not calling for a return to the days of no running water and outhouses as toilets, he said that with the help of engineers, housing development could be a reality for areas plagued by land slippage.

Marshall noted that the chattel house of the past did not have multiple sinks, bathrooms and washing machines pushing water into the soil and causing erosion.

“The solution may be that we do not need to say ‘no more development’. What we need to do is to say ‘we will permit you to do your development but it has to be of a particular kind’,” he said.

“Let us look at building a lighter structure. I believe that today’s technology will allow us to do that. But let us also mandate how people propose to deal with their water run-off.”

The St Joseph MP added: “If I had to build another house in my life, it would be a chattel house. These big wall houses that we love to build, take it from somebody who has been there and done that – build a chattel house; it’s cooler, it’s more comfortable, it’s cheaper to repair and cheaper to maintain.”

Marshall’s contribution to the debate was the first of the day’s sitting and one in which he reflected on the section of the amended PDP which appeared to prohibit development on lands designated as “national park” areas.

He cautioned against the restriction of development by authorities which would make living in St Joseph unattractive.

“If we do not permit development in St Joseph, or so restrict development that it becomes unappealing, we are going to be perpetuating that drift of the population from rural Barbados and increase the pressure on the parts of urban Barbados. If we are not going to allow residential development – for argument’s sake, in certain parts of Horse Hill and other areas – then we have an obligation to provide housing for them in parts outside of rural Barbados,” he added.

Marshall said that approach did not address the wishes and traditional ties of those who wish to live nowhere else but in St Joseph where their “navel strings” are buried.

“There is a whole lifestyle associated with rural Barbados that you cannot find in St Michael,” he added.

The MP said while he does not subscribe to the notion of “two Barbadoses”, his “unique” constituency and those of St Andrew and St Thomas have certain peculiarities.

The “blessing” of daily rainfall, Marshall explained, creates a significant challenge in terms of the ability to maintain roads and arrest slippage.

“When we talk about the uniqueness of rural Barbados, we have to make sure as we engage in the process of planning for Barbados that we take into account the uniqueness and try to satisfy the important needs of the individuals in those parts of Barbados,” he said.
(SP)