Villagers in Airy Hill, St George are at odds with neighbours whom they accuse of an unjust and selfish act of blocking public access to a cart road that has been in use for more than half a century.
Speaking to Barbados TODAY on Tuesday, one resident, Ms Wilson, said the villagers thought it important to make their concerns public after seeing the great lengths two St George residents were taking to deny public access to a much-used cart road.
She said: “Recently, the [owner of the property] remarried, and her husband Ryan Corbin [allegedly] took it upon himself to fence off this path. I really do not think they would have gotten Town and Country Planning permission, because I do not see how they would possibly get it, because it has been a public access for well more than 50 years probably even 80.”
According to her, the pathway has been used for many generations as a shortcut and for easy access to the village, with never an issue being raised. But she said it was during the course of the previous week that fencing and barbed wire were placed at the entrance of the path, seemingly to block or greatly deter public use.
Wilson added that even Light and Power also expressed concern that the fence limits access to two utility poles on the property in the event of an emergency.
She told Barbados TODAY: “You will see that the entirety of the power supply for Airy Hill 1, 2, 3 and 4, are now on their property. So if there is an emergency or if the power goes out, how is the Barbados Light and Power supposed to come and rectify the situation… because they have up their private property and no trespassing signs, and also the fact that they physically have a fence now, prohibiting them from coming and fixing the powerlines and the transformers.”
A male resident who preferred to remain anonymous said that the cart road, which has been a mainstay in the area even when canefields were once commonplace, also functioned as an emergency access several times over the last few years whenever the main road became impassable because of roadworks.
Residents, who gathered at the entrance of the cart road on Wednesday morning to speak to Barbados TODAY, said the area MP, Toni Moore, has already been made aware of the situation.
When contacted, Ryan Corbin referred all questions to his lawyer who then could not be reached for comment. (SB)
Read our ePaper. Fast. Factual. Free.
Sign up and stay up to date with Barbados' FREE latest news.
These residents are making much ado about nothing
Unjust and selfish are not illegal in this country or many of you won’t be able to speak
And let light and power speak for themselves because I’m almost certain that if the electricity goes out for other residents it will also go out for them and they would make provisions to have it fixed so please
I hope that they can maintain their fence and their gate on their property this kind of socialism type behavior where anyone can use of your property can’t be allowed
The residents should be able to check the national town planning office or the national survey department to determine if that location is a road. If it is a road or a right of way no one should be able to block it. If the residents used the access over 40 years, they may have some rights to access the same section of land or road. They can check with the local professionals.
I have no problem with a person securing their property but clearly from your statement you do not know the area nor have you lived in the community otherwise you would not make such ignorant statements. It is highly unnecessary and makes one wonder what really goes on behind all these gates and fences and guard walls that have to be hidden all of a sudden. It is a selfish act especially in these times. Majority of you rich people have no consideration for the poor men and women of this country that still walk. Imagine you get off a bus or minivan in Charles Rowe Bridge with groceries or child and have to walk almost back to town to get home where as the short cut that been there probably even before this corbin person was born reduces that walk by half or even more in some caaes. I really looking forward to see the outcome of this then we will know who our governments really cater to.
Because they were using this path for 50-80 years does it make it theirs? The owners have the right to do what is beneficial to their safety; it’s their property to do as they sees fitted.
Some people have a way of making other people’s vacant space their own. Has any of these people offered the owners money at tax time to help with the land taxes? How many times have they dropped their trash on the path; then left it for the land owners to clean up?