MONTEGO BAY, St James —  O Dave Allen, the operations manager for the People’s Arcade in Montego Bay has given squatters a further two weeks to vacate the facility.

The roughly 25 families who currently occupy the property were previously given until April 30 to leave the arcade.

But Allen told the Observer West earlier this week that a decision was taken to give the squatters more time during a meeting with the tenants held at the facility late last week.

The extension he said, is to facilitate the intervention of Citizens Security and Justice Project (CSJP) and to accommodate a request made by the residents who claimed that the 30 day -period given to quit was too short.

“Currently, CSJP is assessing the social and economic situation, particularly of those youths who are at risk and who are living inside the facility. CSJP at the end of the exercise will be making the necessary referrals to the respective social agencies,” said Allen.

He said in the meantime, efforts will be made to secure the partnership of the St James Parish Council in the repositioning of the arcade as the premier small business centre in Montego Bay.

A major clean-up operation, Allen said, will be undertaken by the tenants on Labour Day.

” We are also seeking the support of the St James Parish Council to flush the perimeter drains and the removal of debris from abandoned shops,” he stressed. “The tenants are also calling for the baiting of the area by the Public Health Department to avoid rat infestation and the timely collection of garbage by Solid Waste Management Authority.”