Norbrook retaining wall in deadly fall not approved by KSAC
THE retaining wall in Norbrook which collapsed onto a shed on September 30, killing three construction workers, was not approved by the Kingston and St Andrew Corporation (KSAC), Mayor Desmond McKenzie said yesterday.
McKenzie told the council that city engineer Norman Shand has issued a stop order for the entire development on Rainbow Crescent in Norbrook.
“Approval was granted by the KSAC for the building. However, the retaining wall that collapsed and killed the three men during the recent heavy rains was never submitted as part of the plan,” McKenzie said.
He said that the stop order was issued because the entire building had been compromised.
He told the council that the city engineer has issued instructions for a technical assessment of the development to be done and submitted to the council.
“After it has been submitted a decision will be taken by the council,” the mayor added.
He said that 34 other structures with similarities to the Norbrook development had been identified where no approval or only partial approval had been granted. The KSAC’s Building and Town Planning Committee would be dealing with those cases, McKenzie said.
Meanwhile, McKenzie said that the damage to the road and gully infrastructure in the city by the recent rains has been estimated at $1.7 billion.
He said that 100,000 square metres of KSAC roads would have to be restored and another 19,000 metre cubes of wall and inverts would have to be reconstructed. Four hundred roads in the city were blocked during the recent inclement weather, he said.
“Some of the gully network in the Corporate Area are over 100 years old. The physical infastructure can no longer withstand the forces of nature,” McKenzie said.
The mayor, meanwhile, urged councillors to educate people in their divisions to understand that building in unsafe areas prone to flooding, not only put them at risk but the entire city.
“All the money in the world won’t change it, the people will have to change. The next time around we hope the people will come to understand that you have to love yourself,” McKenzie declared.
