A new plan for TT’s progress

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT of Trinidad and Tobago is proving to be a major challenge for the Patrick Manning Administration. With very little time and space to spare, the Government is attempting to transform Port-of-Spain into a 21st century capital worthy of housing the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), while satisfying demands for housing and improved facilities without inflicting damage on the twin-island state’s very vulnerable eco-systems. However the existing development policy, which is about two decades old, has outlived its usefulness.

“We can no longer work with that plan. A lot of areas which were zoned have changed and we are faced with a lot of new issues which didn’t exist at the time this plan was developed,” Planning and Development Minister Camille Robinson-Regis recently told Sunday Newsday. “There is also the fact that we’re on an island and land is at a premium. We have to determine how we can best use the land available to us without interfering too much with the hillsides and the watersheds.”

Faced with a pressing need to advance the country’s physical development in keeping with Government’s Vision 2020, the Planning Ministry is hoping to implement a new National Physical Development Plan by year-end. The proposed policy, with input from stakeholders in construction, architecture, physical planning and the environment, as well as local and foreign consultants, should be out for public comment by mid-year. According to Robinson-Regis, it addresses a range of contentious issues, including the lengthy, frustrating and highly bureaucratic approval process and loopholes in the system which allow for abuse, including unregulated hillside developments and projects which have caused overcrowding and overloading of existing infrastructure.

“A lot of issues have been coming up, particularly with Town and Country Planning. We’re hoping that by putting a new plan in place, those issues which seem to be problematic for developers will be sorted out,” Robinson-Regis said. One of the most difficult issues, hillside development, is being addressed through a specific policy which is being developed by a team within the Planning Ministry. That problem was the focus of a national consultation several months ago and the policy document should be out for public comment by June. Unregulated housing construction on hills, a problem for many years, has escalated from squatters’ shacks and humble homes precariously balancing on overcrowded hills in working-class communities, to a recent upsurge in construction of multi-million dollar condominiums and apartment complexes in exclusive hillside locations.

Robinson-Regis revealed: “There are a lot of instances where people want to build on hillsides but of course that has environmental implications. Recently, with all the rain and landslides, we were faced with damage caused by people building on, or cutting down vegetative cover indiscriminately. “People want to build and are building on the hillsides. We have to deal with that.” She added: “Our main concern is maintaining a balance. We know land is at a premium but we must take into account the environmental considerations.” There is also the problem of housing developments being crammed into land space formerly occupied by single-family homes. This trend has been noticed in Cascade, St Ann’s and several other upscale districts in North and West Trinidad, where high demand has sent property prices through the roof. However, these high-priced projects are putting pressure on existing infrastructure, causing traffic congestion and problems with water and electricity supplies. “We have had complaints from residents and we have been looking at it,” Robinson-Regis told Sunday Newsday.

“In some instances, those multi-family residential units were approved during a previous administration. There is nothing much we can do since those developments were given approval. “We are looking at requests for approval of such projects that are coming in now. That is why we felt it was very important to get a policy in place. We don’t want to do it in a very ad hoc way but it is a very serious problem which is causing overcrowding and putting pressure on existing infrastructure.” According to Robinson-Regis, the new approach to housing will require that developers do more than just build homes.

She explained: “We are trying to encourage them to build communities. There was the complaint that in large developments like Maloney and La Horquetta, houses were put down without the supporting amenities. “In those large housing areas we are now putting all the amenities in place — malls, schools, churches, health centres, recreational facilities — so whole communities have developed. Even though at first they didn’t develop that way, they are now going along those lines. “What we are insisting on now is that when people come seeking approval for developments, especially if it is a development of a certain scale, we are asking them to ensure there are recreational and other facilities, that they create communities.” The new approach to physical development will also be seen in urban centres throughout the country where administrative centres along the lines of the one established in Tunapuna will be constructed. One is already close to completion in Siparia, drawings are being done for the centre in Diego Martin and designs are being done for the other administrative centres.

The plan, Robinson-Regis explained, is to house various Government agencies at these centres for easy access to public services by citizens. The long-term plan is for the administrative centres to become hubs of activity in municipal areas throughout the country. “To some extent, there will be decentralisation of services. However, major Government Ministries will remain in Port-of-Spain.” The policy will also address the need for streamlining and speeding up of the approval process for various projects. In this area, the Planning Ministry intends to work closely with the Environmental Management Authority (EMA), the Ministry of Works and Transport and the Ministry of Public Utilities.

“In coming up with approvals, people have to go to all these agencies. We want to expedite that process so that things will move much faster than before,” Robinson-Regis said. “Also coming out very soon will be brochures . . . how-to guides on getting approvals, applying for a sub-division, so that the public is educated. This will also help to make the process go a lot faster. “In a lot of cases people don’t know what they have to do and they keep going back and forth, trying to file the right documents. “We intend to open up Town and Country Planning a little more so that people won’t have as many complaints about the process,” she added.