Pavilion Road woman says Town Planners mum on wall

A vexed Pavilion Road resident declared Tuesday that answers are needed to her three-year-old complaint to the Town and Country Development Planning Office about a 10-foot high wall erected close to her property by her neighbour.

Charmaine Cheltenham, who has lived on Pavilion Road, Bank Hall all 50 years of her life, said she first raised the issue with the department when she noticed the large wall being built on the neighbouring property, with no apparent clearance for the structure being sought through the relevant authorities.

But despite her complaint, Cheltenham said, the wall continued to be built, with minimal attention being given by Town and Country Planning to the situation.

She told Barbados TODAY: “I was concerned about the height of the wall and if it was too close, so I went to Town and Country Planning. I spoke to Mr Sobers, and he came and said it was too high at the time so he has to speak to [the neighbour]. A social worker was dealing with me at the time, and she was dialoguing between [Town and Country Planning] and the [neighbour], since then I have not heard anything.”

In recalling an incident recently, where garbage and debris Cheltenham removed from her yard and placed near the wall was subsequently moved by the neighbour onto another vacant property which belonged to neither individual, Cheltenham said she quickly called Town and Country Planning again to ask for some clarity on the situation before it got further out of hand.

“I called Town and Country Planning yesterday, finally got through to Mr Sobers, he said he would have to look back at the case,” she said. “I asked when would he do that, and he [responded] and said he did not know when he would be able to do that, he would get around to it.

“The thing for me is that if this is how it’s supposed to stay, fine by me. I would have to live with it, but if it’s too high I want it moved. It’s an inconvenience for us, so I need somebody to tell me where to go and what to do because I can’t seem to get Town and Country Planning to come and address it.”

She further added: “If this was the other way around, I would have already been moved from here. [My] house is an old house, the roof old, the flooring old, everything… you can see its old, no one cares. If this was the other way around, Town and Country Planning would have already gotten here and dealt with me.”

Barbados TODAY has reached out to the Town and Country Planning Department for comment. (SB)