Landowners warned of fines over derelict properties under health law

Landowners who have fallen afoul of the amended Health Services Act have begun receiving official notices warning that they could soon face fines if overgrown and derelict properties are not brought into compliance, Minister of Environment and National Beautification, Green and Blue Economy Adrian Forde said on Friday.

Addressing a prize-giving ceremony at the National Botanical Gardens for winners of the National Tree Planting and Parish Home Garden competitions, the minister contrasted their efforts with what he described as the “opposite behaviour” of some property owners who allow their lands to become bushy and unsightly.

“I want now to speak about the antithesis of your behaviour,” he said, declaring that such conduct had “raised every single grey hair” on his head since assuming office. He characterised the neglect of land as “maladaptive” and, in more colloquial terms, “not so Barbadian behaviour”, invoking the old maxim that cleanliness is next to godliness.

The minister reminded landowners that under the law, properties with excessive bush or in an unsightly condition must be cleaned and maintained.

“We have said by legislation that if you have bush on your property of a certain height, and it’s unsightly, that you have a mandate to clean it and to beautify your area,” he said.

With assistance from the Solicitor General, the ministry has now reached the stage of formally serving notices on those who are in breach of the law, he announced. These include owners who have left their lots or plots in a disused or derelict state.

“I am happy today to say that we have started serving notice to persons who run afoul of this law,” he said. Issuing what he described as an “early warning” and a “New Year’s warning”, Forde urged recipients to act swiftly.

“Go and do the remedial work on your land plots. Go and do what is necessary… to ensure that you bring back a beautiful, clean and safe environment so that neighbours can enjoy the spaces that are open.”

The issue went beyond aesthetics, he said, pointing to public health concerns associated with neglected properties.

Overgrown and abandoned lots, he noted, can contribute to threats such as dengue fever, leptospirosis and other conditions linked to stagnant water and poor sanitation. The aim of enforcement, he said, is to ensure that “those things will not be the order of the day as far as it relates to Barbados”.

Forde also addressed the persistent problem of illegal dumping, describing it as “an albatross” around his neck and that of the ministry. He disclosed that authorities have moved “apace” to install surveillance cameras at various locations.

“We have put cameras — very clandestine, you will not know which part they are — around areas, gullies and different dump sites,” he said, warning offenders that detection is only a matter of time. “I am waiting. I am hoping that the whole of Barbados will see when those persons are brought before the law courts.” (SB)