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Dr. Denis Lowe, Minister of the Environment and Drainage. (FP)??

The Government of Barbados has not swapped any land at River Bay, St. Lucy or at the Metal Dump at Bagatelle, St. Thomas.

This assurance was given today by Minister of the Environment and Drainage, Dr. Denis Lowe, in response to questions from the media of recent allegations that Cabinet had approved the swap of land at Bagatelle for the one at River Bay.

He stated that a Cabinet paper was written by his Ministry in which Government was asked to consider the transfer of the Bagatelle facility to B’s Recycling.

In that paper, he continued, the Ministry indicated to Cabinet that once it had given consent to contemplate the decision that was asked, the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) would have to be satisfied that the social and environmental impact studies were done.

The Minister added that another condition also required B’s Recycling to submit an operational plan that included all the stipulated requirements of the Town Planning Development Office.

"Once that was done, then the Cabinet would consider whether or not the decision asked for could be granted. That is the Cabinet paper. No decision has been taken," he stressed.

Dr. Lowe noted that the metal dump had been operating since 1996 without providing the necessary documents to the Town and Country Planning Development Office or to the EPD. "This conversation only started when the name of B’s Recycling appeared," the Minister charged.

julia.rawlins-bentham@barbados.gov.bb

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