THE?MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE will be stamping out the sale of alcohol, gambling, fighting and other illegal activities which are presently taking place at the compound of the Fairchild Street Public Market.
Stating that he had received complaints about these activities from the police, the ministry’s Manager of Markets Henderson Greaves told vendors that such practices would not be tolerated.
This also held true for the temporary relocation of the Fairchild Street operations to nearby Golden Square, Probyn Street, he said.
He told vendors that the lease agreement on the rental of the land at Golden Square from Bethel Methodist Church specifically stated that no alcohol was to be sold there.
“A major concern for the area has to do with the sale of alcohol and other illegal activities,” he said as he advised Fairchild Street vendors to form an association in order to address such problems.
Greaves and other members of his team met with the vendors at Fairchild Street yesterday afternoon to update them on the relocation to Golden Square.
He showed the vendors a map of the proposed layout for Golden Square and advised them to remove their possessions from the stalls at Fairchild Street before Friday to make way for the removal of the asbestos roof. He also urged them to go to Golden Square between Monday and Tuesday to select their positions.
Greaves explained that only after an assessment of the area by officials from the Environmental Protection Department as well as environmental officers would they be allowed to return to Fairchild Street.
While he expected this would be only a few days, he stressed that the all-clear would have to be given by the officials.
In response to questions from the vendors, Greaves pointed out that the reason why they could not be fully accommodated at Golden Square was Government did not have the money to make the area ready for them as yet. He said as soon as those funds became available, lighting, water and sanitary services would be put in place.
In relation to the new market, expected to be constructed soon, Greaves said it would accommodate between 300 and 350 people.
He said the new market would be semi-enclosed but easily accessible.
“We want to create a street feeling in the market,” he explained, adding there would be a food court, Internet cafe and rental space for professionals.
