FALMOUTH, Trelawny – A historical Georgian building in Falmouth, which the Government wants preserved, is now seen as a hindrance to the development of the Trelawny capital and the focus of resentment.

The Trelawny Chamber of Commerce and Industry is about to lead a mutiny against Jamaica National Heritage Trust (JNHT), which regulates development in the town’s designated historic district, saying its rules were hampering Falmouth’s progress.

The problem, according to chamber president Dennis Seivwright, is the lengthy approval process required to conform with the heritage watchdog’s rules.

“We are on the brink of defying the regulations of the heritage trust because we are frustrated…,” declared Seivwright.

“We are at the point of instructing our community to defy the rules and set our own standards and set our own preservation of heritage and forget about them, because this bureaucracy is burying us in the sand and soon we won’t even exist because we are a town of derelict structures living among flies, rats and roaches,” he fumed.

JNHT, in 1997, proclaimed mainstream Falmouth a heritage district to regulate and preserve the Georgian town.

As a result, no infrastructure development, large scale or domestic, can take place there without the heritge watchdog’s approval, and all development must conform with the Georgian theme.

The JNHT’s heritage architectural review board polices all plans to ensure compliance.

But several interests in Falmouth are contending that the review board is unwilling to compromise to facilitate major investment in the town, and is becoming a hindrance to its economic development.

One example they point to is the US$25 million Hampden Wharf development, a project announced by former head of the Development Bank of Jamaica, Kingsley Thomas, at a luncheon of the Rotary Club of Falmouth back in October 2004.

A year later, the architecture board is yet to approve the design.

“Because of the heritage trust, even the wharf development is in jeopardy. Investors are frustrated because they spent so much money acquiring the property and now their money is sitting idle,” said Seivwright.

The wharf development is meant to provide a home for a slave museum, and the Jamaica Music Revue, showcasing the history of Jamaican music from gerreh, ska and rocksteady to mento, reggae and dance hall; upgrade the neighbouring fisherman’s village and the historic Tharpe House; and construct a 1,000-seat theatre/concert hall.

Seivwright said that instead of meeting the developers halfway, the JNHT is quibbling over the height of the theatre building.

“They are saying that the design of the theatre is too high and nothing should be higher than the Parish Church, and that it is going change the landmark of the town and that kind of foolishness,” said the chamber president.

“Do I want to spend the rest of my life maintaining a landmark while we die in squalor?” he demanded. “We need a compromise to move forward.”

But Cavern Tate, JNHT director of estate management and development, told the Sunday Observer that the trust was cooeprating with the DBJ.

“We are working with the development bank on that project . so we are not hampering its development in any way,” said Tate.

“The point is we have to maintain a certain integrity to the town, so any development being proposed for the town has to be in the context of maintenance of that integrity.”

Falmouth, at the behest of UNESCO, is being readied for addition to the list of world heritage sites.

“If we are to do that, the town has to have a particular historical and architectural integrity,” said Tate.

The Hampden wharf project aside, residents are also fuming over the long wait they have to endure after submitting plans to the JNHT for approval to repair or construct buildings in the town.

Trelawny Custos Roylan Barrett recalled one instance when it took over five years to get the go-ahead for a house on Duke Street.

On another occasion, Barrett complained, the Salvation Army lost a grant for the construction of a basic school at the back of its Market Street premises because the JNHT took too long to approve the plan.

Seivwright also told the Sunday Observer that the refurbishing of the Albert George Market, which he operates, was delayed for two years awaiting approval from the JNHT.

“When I eventually got the approval (three months ago), it was with conditions that compromised a lot of my space,” he said.

But Tate countered that often plans submitted to the trust often lack the required detail.

“Drawings that come to us, for instance, might not be sufficient in terms of the detailing because it is a heritage district you are working in. So, for instance, you have to produce the details for the windows, the doors etcetera, that you will be using,” said the heritage official.

“And if the drawings aren’t sufficiently detailed or don’t have sufficient information, then you can’t have them approved.”

Custos Barrett contends, however, that while buildings should be constructed as close to the Georgian design as possible, the JNHT unreasonably expected the architecture to be replicated.

“It is like they want to rewrite history – you can’t do that,” said Barrett. It should be sufficient, “to make it look ‘Georgianish’,” he said, coining his own term.

Added Seivwright: “I believe we should maintain the heritage as much as we can, but some of it will have to go in the interest of economic growth. We don’t wear the same clothes our grandfathers used to wear. But it is an appreciated era.”

Other heritage districts in Jamaica include Titchfield Hill in Portland; Black River, St Elizabeth; Port Royal in Kingston; and Spanish Town, the capital of St Catherine.

hinesh@jamaicaobserver.com