RESIDENTS of Village in Balcarres, west Portland, are to get a new swing bridge after the one which was replaced some 15 years ago fell into disrepair.

Sections of the railing have become loose and the metal base has rotted, resulting in the bridge becoming lopsided and unsafe.

The residents, who took to the streets recently to protest, were assured by Councillor Hopeton Molloy that work should begin soon.

However, later when he visited the area with officials from the Portland Parish Council to get work started, a new location had to be found to set up a temporary bridge while the old one is being repaired, as a resident objected to ‘his land’ being used for this purpose.

Another resident, Carol Skyers, sought to assure the officials that she was the legal owner of the land, but the parish council took the decision to place the temporary bridge at another location.

Skyers, armed with a title and tax receipts, said, “it is my land and I give you permission to put the temporary bridge here. The wire that is here I will remove it and cut down the bush see the papers here sir.” She showed the documents to Randolph Follett the superintendent of works for the Portland Parish Council.

Follett, and his team, however, opted to relocate the temporary bridge a few chains from the swing bridge in order for it to lead to a parochial road in Village.

Councillor Molloy is in agreement with the Parish Council officials, as this will avoid further delays. “There was a temporary bridge there before, but one person said the land is theirs and opposed to the land being used as there was a dispute, but they (Parish Council) have found somewhere else and we have solved the problem. The tractor is here to start working today”.

The Jamaica Observer North East was informed that the more than 70 affected residents include the elderly and physically challenged, as well as several coffee and plantain farmers.

–Everard Owen