SAVANNA-LA-MAR, Westmoreland — The Government has abandoned its plan to repair the Westmoreland Parish Court in Savanna-la-Mar, opting instead to temporarily move operations to a recently built plaza until a new courthouse can be built. The decision was influenced by the estimated cost of repairing damage done by last October’s Hurricane Melissa.

“We are presently looking at a newly built plaza which we hope, at least, can be finalised. If it is finalised, then the staff and the courts will move over to that plaza. It will not be necessary to do the extensive repairs that are needed to put back the parish court into operation,” Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Delroy Chuck told the Jamaica Observer on Monday.

The goal is to have the relocation done within a month.

“The likelihood is that we need to build a new court in Westmoreland because the present parish court has not only outlived its life, it’s quite old and to put it back in good condition would be extremely expensive,” he explained.

The minister suggested that, going forward, the existing building could be used as a museum.

But that would also require work being done as Hurricane Melissa destroyed most of its roof. Tarpaulins have been losing their fight with rainwater which has been seeping into courtrooms as well as administrative and general offices. As a result, sessions are now held Monday, Tuesday and Thursday mornings at Whithorn Outstation Courthouse which is about 20 minutes away from Savanna-la-Mar.

Chuck’s revelation is an about-turn on plans he outlined, last November, on the way forward for the courthouse. At the time, he had indicated that the resources were available, and the Government was working to have the building repaired in the shortest possible time.

“The key thing is to be able to get a contractor, hopefully under the emergency procurement. If we can get that done shortly, then it will be a matter of months, hopefully, within the first half of next year for this court to be repaired. It’s quite a historic building and we are not going to abandon it. It is necessary to ensure that it is properly renovated, improved, and then put back into operation,” the minister said then.

He estimated, then, that roof repairs would cost hundreds of millions of dollars.

A notice hangs on the grilled entrance of the Westmoreland Parish Court in Savanna-la-Mar. (Photo: Anthony Lewis)