President’s Grounds issue declared resolved

In a statement, the SACHC said it was happy after six months of discussion that the Urban Development Company of TT (Udecott) had recognised the importance of the grounds to the community. On July 10, Udecott issued a release saying it will review options other than President’s Grounds.

The SACHC said Udecott Chairman Calder Hart subsequently said in Parliament (at a Joint Select Committee meeting of Parliament) that the decision would be honoured.

It reminded that facilities like a community centre represented very important community support which any government must provide for its people. SACHC said the community centre was taken away 23 years ago and successive governments have failed to replace the facility “despite repeated requests from the community to do so.”

SACHC said the netball court was also taken away and not replaced.

The community group sought to refute the “disturbingly inaccurate” statements Udecott had on its release (from July 10).

It said at no point did the SACHC reject any facility for the community.

“The community’s only requirement was that the grounds continue to be usable for its traditional activities.

“The only thing the community flatly rejects is Udecott’s published version of the community’s position.”

The SACHC said its committee had offered to return to the community with a proposal to give up a sizable area of the grounds on the condition that “there was contiguous green space for sporting and other activities, including a proper rugby and football field.”

The SACHC said its mandate from the community was always put forward to Udecott, which was also informed that no decision could be taken without consultation with the community.

The group thanked Prime Minister Patrick Manning for the successful outcome since, according to SACHC, it was only after his intervention that progress was made in talks with Udecott. The SACHC also thanked the media for highlighting the President’s Grounds issue and community groups and others who supported the cause.