Diocese, Govt settling rental fees

GOVERNMENT MAY SOON be asked to make continuous rental payments to the Barbados Anglican Diocese for the use of several school properties that belong to the Anglican Church.Hartley Richards, chairman of the Barbados Diocesan Trustees, the church’s corporate arm that manages its real estate and invests funds generated from properties, told BARBADOS BUSINESS AUTHORITY in an exclusive interview on Tuesday, “We have received some rent. And we are hoping that in the future, Government will agree to pay us rent on a continuous basis or to purchase the schools outright. There has been a promise to pay. We received some money this year.”Anglicans were leaders in providing education in Barbados, prior to the state’s lead role, and a number of Anglican school buildings remain occupied by Government even though some had been handed back to the diocese, he pointed out.Richards said, “We have extensive land in the schools . . . . We are in constant negotiation with Government with regard to the payment of rental for these schools [and] we have reached agreement with Government on the basis on which the rents will be calculated.”Although the Barbados Diocesan Trust reached a basic agreement on the formula for payment, a guaranteed payment schedule was still to be finalised, he added. (SR)