Red House not suitable for Parliament

Government’s proposal to move Parliament from the Red House and construct a new home for the legislature has received support from a Canadian team of consultants which evaluated the proposal and submitted a report. In a 50-page document entitled “Celebrating the Past, Embracing the Future” the team stated that the Red House was no longer a suitable home for Parliament. In fact, the consultants found that the Red House provided less than half the space required for the “truly effective and efficient operation of an evolving Parliament.” The team further contended that renovating the Red House for use by the Parliament was “impossible” and that preserving the building as a national treasure was “essential.” “Consideration has been given to renovating and expanding the Red House to accommodate the evolving requirements of Parliament. Analysis points to the impossibility of meeting the requirements and to the danger of such an undertaking,”  the report of the consultants stated.

It said that expansion to acquire over twice the current space of the Red House would mean major expropriation of surrounding land and streets, “with inherent destruction of the urban fabric of Port-of- Spain.” Moreover, the report stated, such a large-scale renovation of the Red House could not be accomplished without devastating the important heritage value of the building. On top of all that, the team predicted that such an expansion would increase the already serious pressure on the urban core in terms of traffic congestion and parking. However in providing guidance for a site selection for the new Parliament building, the consultants were clear that the new “Parliament buildings” should be within Port-of-Spain, “along or near an axis that extends from Independence Square to the Savannah.” In fact, the consultants suggested that the new location must be within or adjacent to the urban core of Port-of- Spain, and near, but distinct from, the centre of commerical activity.

The report conceded that many people regarded the Red House as synonymous with Parliament and that much of the political, social, economic and cultural history of the country was tied up with the historical building. “The Red House has witnessed the history of Trinidad and Tobago since the first stone was laid in 1844 — during that time it has physically changed, and adapted to its environment, to the needs of the people and to the form of government.” But the report noted that the Red House was not designed for the functions of the parliament and that the impact of this situation  was reaching “a critical point, with a severe shortage of space for parliamentarians and for the services they require.” Moreover the configuration of space is influencing how and when Parliament carries out its work. With the Senate and the House of Representatives sharing a single Chamber, with a severe shortage of committee rooms and the lack of office space for Parliamentarians, there is increasing pressure to schedule the work of Parliament to fit the space available.”

In analysing the criteria for the new home, the consultant stated that the location must be separate from the Office of the President and the Office of the Prime Minister, but should be linked by a clear and direct route, “forming a ceremonial route.”  The overall area must be a minimum of ten acres, “ideally closer to 20 acres,” the document said. Also, it added, the site should provide adequate space for development of grounds for public ceremony and demonstration. The new building must sustain “the important relationship between the people of Trinidad and Tobago and the site and building of Parliament,” the report stressed. The report  also emphasised that the new building must be designed in a way that reflects and celebrates the natural beauty and environment of Trinidad and Tobago.

Noting that in 1990, when the Parliament felt the brutal impact of an attack on the Chamber in which seven people were killed, the report stated that security risks “such as this still exist, calling for a strong plan for both operational security as well as infrastructure to mitigate risks from threats to security.” Among the site requirements for parliamentary security cited in the document are 1) a clearly defined and controlled parliamentary estate perimeter with barriers, gates or electronic access control, 2)vehicle screening facilities, 3) crowd control provisions for large demonstrations or celebration area, 4) off-site pre-screening facilities for all major deliveries and 5)secured parking areas for parliamentary officials. The Canadian team made presentations on the document — focusing on the vision, the guiding principles and the assessment of the amount and type of space Parliament needed to effectively carry out its work — to Prime Minister Patrick Manning, Public Administration Minister Dr Lenny Saith, the House Committee, UDeCOTT and other stakeholders.