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| From left: Chief Town Planner, Mark Cummins; Minister of Culture, Stephen Lashley; and Member of Parliament for Bridgetown, Patrick Todd, at a press conference last year on the inscription of Bridgetown and its Garrison. (C. Pitt/BGIS) |
The demolition of the Waterford House, poses no threat to the inscription of Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison, as a World Heritage Site.
Chief Town Planner, Mark Cummins, pointed this out today during a clear-the-air statement in response to criticisms over the demolition of the land mark at Hastings, Christ Church, yesterday.
He revealed that Waterford House was not one of the 115 listed buildings within Historic Bridgetown of which 28 of them fell within the Garrison Conservation area.
Mr. Cummins said a decision was taken between 1998/99 that the amalgamated Worthing/Hastings police station would be located on that site and as such, an application had been submitted to the Town and Country Development Planning Office for approval by the Office of the Attorney General last March.
He added there was "a wide consultation process with a number of stakeholders including the Barbados Museum and Historical Society, the Barbados National Trust and other agencies".
Mr. Cummins further stated: "We went through at least three submissions by the architect, Selby Rose and Mapp, until we found a drawing that we felt would adequately represent and capture the architecture of the conservation area.?? But, more importantly, the building, which will go there, would not despoil or threaten the outstanding universal value of Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison, which is the major pillar or plank on which the inscription was gained."
The Chief Town Planner added that he sat on a number of World Heritage Committee meetings and perused several State of Conservation reports and was not aware that the demolition of Waterford House would be prejudicial to the inscription.
Mr. Cummins added that the building could not be readapted for use as a modern police station.