Former court to be refurbished for community purposes

The facility at Rock Hall, St Thomas which housed the former District ‘D’ Magistrates’ Court is being repurposed for use by the community.

“We have plans to have that building refurbished,” Acting Chief Community Development Officer Yolande Skeete told residents at the St Thomas Speaks town hall meeting on Wednesday night at the Sharon Moravian Church Hall.

“We have the approved plans from the Ministry of Transport and Works, and we have also included that in the Estimates for this financial year. So, certainly, you should see a refurbished facility there because we recognise that there was a dearth of community activities in that area for quite some time.”

Responding to questions from members of the audience, she explained that her office had engaged the services of a quantity surveyor after finding that there were some challenges concerning pricing.

She added: “So certainly, the residents in Rock Hall, you are going to be able to have a facility and . . . I would hazard a guess to say it should be concluded before the end of the year because we have to treat to that in more than one phase.”

Skeete pointed to the aesthetics of the building, saying that because it was a magistrates’ court, it had to be repurposed and made community-friendly.

“There is an area there where we are asking the Ministry of Environment and Beautification to install a play park… so that parents who come into the centre can actually, you know, have the children there and the children would be able to have that as a recreational area.

“But certainly, we have started the process. We’ve gutted [the building] and that gutting of the building showed us then what we need to do, but we are well on the way to ensuring that that building is refurbished. So, hopefully, we can have that handed over to the community within the coming year,” said the acting chief community development officer.

(FW)