From left, Blythe, and Morgan
Cedric Johnson, Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
WHILE THERE seems to be no end in sight to the five-year wrangling among public officials over where the new Westmoreland cemetery is to be sited, the Llandilo property, which was originally earmarked by the Westmoreland Parish Council, is now being taken over by squatters.
"People have been capturing the land and members of the community are up in arms about it," said Savanna-la-Mar's Mayor, Councillor Delford Morgan, while addressing a recent meeting of the Council's Commercial Services Committee. "The people are saying that they would rather to live with the dead than to have the squatters next to them."
The property, which is located in close proximity to the Llandilo Housing Scheme, was acquired from Government in 1999 by the Parish Council, which immediately set about preparing it as a replacement for the Tate Cemetery, which is now filled to capacity and has been deemed unhealthy by the Westmore-land Public Health Department.
WORK STOPPED
However, shortly after the work on the site started, it came to an abrupt end as central Westmore-land's Member of Parliament, Dr. Karl Blythe, informed the Council that residents of Llandilo were uncomfortable with having a cemetery so close to their homes. He then offered the Council an alternate site on Walter Cheddesingh property and promised that the Westmoreland Trust Company would pay back the $2 million the Council had expended in preparing the Llandilo site.
With Dr. Blythe not keeping his promise to provide the alternative site and the need for the cemetery becoming more pronounced each day, the Council is now indicating that it plans to reclaim the Llandilo site from the squatters and established the burial site there as was originally planned.
IMMEDIATE SOLUTION NEEDED
"The longer we take to settle the matter, the more opportunity the squatters will have to settle there," said Mrs. Ulit Wright, the Council's director of finance. "We need to move immediately to reclaim the land now as it might be difficult to do so if we allow the squatters to settle there."
In explaining why he did not keep his promise, Dr. Blythe said the Walter Cheddesingh offer was withdrawn because the residents of that area also objected to having a cemetery in their area, claiming it would bring down the market value of their properties. Earlier this year, he sent a letter to Mayor Morgan, inviting the Council to 'come in and let us talk'.
However, having rejected Dr. Blythe's offer of dialogue and subsequent attempt by the People's National Party (PNP) chairman Robert Pickersgill to discuss the issue, the Council is now set on reclaiming the lands at Llandilo.
