Villagers, neighbours battle over fenced-off cartroad

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)