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Minister of the Environment and Drainage, Dr. Denis Lowe (FP)?? |
Minister of the Environment and Drainage, Dr. Denis Lowe, is making a public appeal for kite flyers to take down their kites at night.
"It is an insensitive act which shows blatant disrespect," he said, while stating that although Barbados could not be totally free of noise, consideration still needed to be given to preserve the rights of individuals for peace and quiet.
"There needs to be some level of moral responsibility when individuals know that they are crossing into people’s personal space," he stressed.
He urged those flying kites over the Easter period to especially consider the elderly in their neighbourhoods, and those who may be recovering from illness, or who simply want some quiet time.
The Minister added that there should be restrictions on when kites could be flown, with late night flying being ruled out as an option.
Several complaints of kites keeping noise at night were made on call-in programmes last week by residents across the island. They also complained about kites being flown overhead while funeral and church services were being conducted.
However, Dr. Lowe gave the public the assurance that Government was preparing to re-submit a document on Noise Pollution to get approval for existing and more robust legislation to deal with the issue.
He explained that the general framework in relation to noise pollution needed to be strengthened, and said the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) was carrying out work and studies in the area to be resubmitted for approval.
During an interview with the Barbados Government Information Service, the Minister also promised that the issues of noise coming from fetes and from vehicles would be addressed soon.
However, he said it was important that any legislation adopted still accounted for people’s rights to enjoyment, but in a responsible manner.
Meanwhile, he is urging members of the public to stay sensitive to the issues as his ministry continues to actively work on bringing the draft legislation before Cabinet.