I HAVE NOTICED THAT a few signs have gone up announcing that “you are entering” the National Park in the Scotland District.
I wonder if there will be a management plan for the park, or will it be similar to our World Heritage Site where signs have been placed at the entry points, but little else has been done.
We have not even been able to place signs on the buildings of historical importance. Bridgetown continues to be strewn with litter and many of the buildings are derelict or in poor repair.
I recently had the opportunity to visit a number of world heritage sites in Croatia, and although the country is poor by European standards, the sites are extremely clean and very well maintained.
Thank goodness for the Synagogue project, as this is one of the few improvements to Bridgetown. The Nicholls building was defaced a few years ago when the roof was fixed, and the Dutch gables were sadly covered with cement, and this has never been rectified. That is a travesty.
There needs to be someone who walks the streets and looks for ways to make practical improvements, and who talks to the owners of the buildings about how they can improve them, so that they can enhance the historical value of the town.
One of the few buildings to be refurbished at the Garrison looks way too modern and does not look like a heritage property.
So, getting back to the National Park, Belleplaine is strewn with litter as are picnic spots along the East Coast Road. Will anything be done about this?
There are also derelict vehicles within the park, but since Government has no plan in place to remove them from anywhere in Barbados, I presume they will remain.
Will interpretive signage, picnic benches, litter bins, hiking trails and all other things that are part of national parks worldwide be introduced? Or will we just put up a few signs and pat ourselves on our backs for now having a World Heritage Site and a national park?
– PETER BYNOE