THE Greater Montego Bay Redevelopment Plan which has been shelved for years, is set to have new life breathed into it. At its last meeting, the Montego Bay City Council agreed to use the plan as its blueprint for the development of the tourist resort.

Former mayor and GMRC member Arthur Gilchrist has been named the point man to liaise between the two bodies and the aim is to upgrade the Plan while developing a similar document for the rural areas of the parish.

According to Christopher Powell, secretary/manager of the St James Parish Council – under which the City Council falls – the city planner has already started work on the parish plan.

“We’re just gonna tie in both of them and get it approved, but the GMRC Plan will stay as the plan for Montego Bay. We’re going to get somebody to update it and tie in both plans,” he explained.

The GMRC Plan, which was completed by the western city’s public and private sector interests years ago at a cost of about $10 million, was shelved after a variety of criticisms including its failure to include a proper transport plan. That aspect of the plan, Powell said, would now be added and it is expected that the upgraded and expanded Plan will eventually become a Development Order for the entire parish.

The City Council is to meet with the land and environment ministry this month to iron out the wrinkles in moving the process along.

The Montego Bay City Council is aimed at fast tracking the development of the area that it serves while improving the overall quality of life for area residents. In its early days, there was great emphasis on plans to improve the services provided, such as garbage collection. But this was linked to increased revenue from increased property taxes.

The islandwide furor over the increased taxes and the subsequent attempts to clarify the issue contributed to the failure to progress in that direction. Members are now awaiting a signal of the way forward from the newly selected local government minister, Portia Simpson Miller.

When the City Council was being formed, there were criticisms that it would just add another layer of red tape to an already overburdened bureaucratic Parish Council; and some have argued that the progress it has made to date has been minimal.

But Powell argued that the Council had experienced teething pains as the large number of communities in the city had caused a drawn out selection process for the members that would represent civic groups. Nevertheless, he is confident now that all the team members are in place and the GMRC Plan has been selected as the way forward, the City Council will move on to make an impact on city life.