DESIGNATED AREA STATUS FOR FALMOUTH

FALMOUTH, Trelawny — JAMAICA Labour Party (JLP) caretaker for Trelawny North, Senator Dennis Meadows, has welcomed plans by the Urban Development Corporation (UDC) to have the seaside town of Falmouth declared a Designated Area.

   "The UDC's intervention is relevant and timely as the declaration will bring with it a slew of benefits, including a range of tax exemptions and grants for developers undertaking projects in the town of Falmouth," Meadows told the Western Mirror yesterday.
   Last month, Prime Minister Bruce Golding -- who has portfolio responsibility for the UDC --instructed the corporation to commence discussions with the local authorities in Trelawny, as part of the process for granting of designated area status.
   The declaration could be made by June, according to a source close to the UDC.
So far, the corporation has held two meetings with the various stakeholders in Trelawny, including the Trelawny Parish Council, National Environment Planning Authority; the Jamaica National Heritage Trust; National Water Commission and the National Works Agency.
   In designated areas, the UDC has planning authority and the flexibility to design, implement and manage the comprehensive development of these areas.

   Under the UDC Act of 1968, the corporation shall, after a designation order has been made, furnish every local authority within whose area the relevant designated area is situated with a plan of development of such designated area which will detail:
    * the manner in which the designated area will be laid out and the land therein to be used;
   * the approximate number and nature of the buildings to be constructed, and
   * particulars relating to water supply, drainage and sewage disposal.

   Meadows added yesterday that the proposed declaration is also welcomed against the background of an absence of a material development plan for the Greater Falmouth area.
   He noted that with the many developments earmarked and currently being undertaken in the Falmouth area, the problem of urban migration, if not managed, could result in many social ills.
   "The UDC's intervention is also timely because there is pervasive squatting within Falmouth and its environs which needs to be cauterised," added Meadows.
   Designated areas include s ections of the western region including the Montego Bay Waterfront and Catherine Hall, in St James, and the Negril coastline from Orange Bay to Long Bay.