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KEEPING BARBADOS BEAUTIFUL
Barbados
has a special and unique beauty, the preservation of which
is paramount to the quality of life of all our citizens.
Our way
of life and economic viability are predicated on well ordered
physical planning and preservation and enhancement of the
natural and built environment.
A
re-elected BLP will:
- Ensure
that there are adequate green and recreational spaces within
all communities, thereby improving our aesthetics and landscapes
while giving residents a sense of pride in their surroundings
- Promote
programmes to empower communities to take care of their
surroundings
- Enact
comprehensive Environmental Legislation
- Enact
comprehensive Noise Pollution Legislation
- Implement
measures to control littering and illegal dumping
- Ensure
that vacant lots in residential developments are kept clean
by their owners so as to maintain the amenity of the development,
reduce health hazards and crime risks
- Establish
an annual “Minister of the Environment National Award
to promote greater environmental awareness
NO
BARRIERS TO OUR BEACHES
A BLP
Government will seek to preserve the marine environment by:
- Enforcing
the law against blocking access to beaches.
- Integrating
into the planning process those communities which live on
or make a living from the sea. Where applicable, the PAHO-Six
Men’s Model will be utilised for developing projects
with coastal communities
- Protecting
our coral reefs
- Building
a West Coast Sewerage Project Reducing pollutants which
enter the marine environment from landbased sources
- Develop
Carlisle Bay Marine Park.
$98
MILLION FOR SPECIAL MARINE PROJECTS
The BLP
will implement strong coastal infrastructural and protection
programmes. The BLP government will, with support of an IDB
loan, spend BDS$98.4 million to:
- improve
the waterfront from the Drill Hall to Rockley
- improve
beaches at Holetown and Welches
- carry
out headland protection at Woman’s Bay, Silver Sands,
Christ Church
- restore
and enhance Crane Beach, St. Philip
- construct
a boat access and slipway at Tent Bay, St. Joseph
- implement
an aeration system at the Holetown Lagoon, St. James
- carry
out dune restoration at Walkers, St. Andrew
- Increase
beach accesses and windows to the sea - by compulsory acquisition
of land where necessary - at Archer’s Bay, Fryers
Well, Maycocks Bay, Gibbes, Fitts Village, Cove Bay,
Speightstown.
- New
or improved beach facilities will be constructed at Pebbles,
Silver Sands, Foul Bay, Worthing and Bay Street (Browne’s
Beach).
- Kiosks
for small vendors will also be provided at Holetown, Brandons
and Enterprise Beaches to expand opportunities for small
business people and those aspiring to be selfemployed.
CLEAN
AIR
Recognising
that everyone has a right to clean air, especially having
regard to the high incidence of asthma in Barbados, the BLP
Administration will, among other initiatives, start a national
air quality monitoring programme and establish indoor air
quality programmes, especially at workplaces
THE
LAND WE LOVE
The
BLP will:
- Develop
protocols for the sustainable use of our gullies.
- Build
new community recreational facilities all over Barbados
starting with Church Village, St. Philip, Belleplaine, St.
Andrew, Carrington Village and Bayville in St. Michael,
and Crystal Heights in St. James.
- Create
management regimes and protocols to protect sites of special
ecological significance and ensure that they are not the
subject of arbitrary commercial activity. Such sites include
natural Wetlands at Graeme Hall, Coastal Sand Dunes at East
Coast and Chancery Lane,
River Bay, Joes River and Turners Hall Woods.
- Implement
a number of projects to add to local sites of beauty and
interest, as well as increase places for recreation and
diversification of tourism services/attractions.
A NATIONAL
BOTANICAL GARDEN
The lush
land of Waterford, St. Michael will be developed into a National
Botanical Garden — a multiuse facility containing landscapes,
waterscapes, plants indigenous to Barbados and the Caribbean.
HARRISON
CAVE
Redevelopment
of Harrison Cave will be undertaken at a cost of BDS$7.6 million.
A short-term improvement programme will also be initiated
to upgrade existing facilities. Persons whose land forms part
of the Cave will be compensated and members of the surrounding
community will be provided opportunities to develop businesses
as a spin-off from activity at the Harrison’s Cave.
PHYSICAL
PLANNING
Barbados’
beauty will be preserved and competing interests for land
use managed by the application of the Physical Development
Plan and best practices in physical planning.
The
BLP will establish a Citizens Charter between the Town Planning
Department and its users.
That
Charter will guarantee:
- well
ordered physical development
- increased
public consultation and community dialogue in areas where
large developments with the capacity to affect communities
are proposed to be located
- a
comprehensive computerisation of the department to better
track files, make more speedy decisions and to allow members
of the public on-line access information about their applications.
- that
all housing developments have adequate recreational and
green spaces for residents to enjoy
- improved
time and efficiency for processing of Town Planning applications.
GREEN
BUSINESSES
There
are niches for Bajan products and services in the new global
market place
The
BLP will:
- Implement
a package of incentives for businesses with a “green
ethic and business culture.”
- Give
incentives to businesses which manufacture valueadded indigenous
products diverted from the waste stream and which have the
potential to earn substantial foreign exchange.
- Give
incentives to businesses to use recognised lowenergy technology
and equipment
- Institute
the “Greening of Government” involving measures
to reduce waste and effect cost savings
- Give
incentives to promote “Green Globe Certification”
and reduce waste in the hotel and tourism sectors
A
BLP Administration will:
- Promote
environmental education and programmes at every level of
the community
- Give
funding and technical assistance to community groups seeking
to start environmental projects
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