THE government was banned yesterday from further demolishing shanty town structures across Abaco after a Supreme Court judge rejected its bid to have the island's shanty towns removed as beneficiaries of a standing injunction centred on demolition of unregulated communities.

In her ruling yesterday, Supreme Court Justice Cheryl Grant-Thompson ordered that her standing injunction, which prohibits the government from evicting shanty town residents and disconnecting services in their communities, be extended to include all unregulated communities in Abaco.

She also ordered the government to “cease and desist” from “any further interference” with the respective communities until the outcome of the pending judicial review and also admonished officials for moving to demolish the structures without first getting approval from the court.

Her ruling came weeks after the government launched a joint sting operation on the remaining shanty towns in Abaco and began demolishing newly built structures. Many of the unregulated communities on the island were destroyed by Hurricane Dorian and later cleared by the government in the aftermath of the storm.

Yesterday, Justice Grant-Thompson said the decision to clear and remove shanty town homes after the storm casts the allusion of an “act first” and “ask questions later” policy, again reiterating that the court should have been consulted beforehand.

The government has contended that many of the homes demolished were in contravention of the law, a point the opposing side has refuted. The attorneys representing the shanty town residents and non-profit group Respect our Homes Ltd in the judicial proceedings have argued that many of the structures removed were capable of being repaired and were not in breach of any law.

Yesterday, Justice Grant-Thompson said in any event, if the government seeks to demolish homes found in contravention of the law, officials must get permission from the court moving forward. This, she added, will ensure fairness to the process until the matter has been concluded.

“The Injunction now fully covers Abaco,” she said. “This simply means that prior to any further demolition taking place on the island of Abaco, evidence that the homes selected for demolition are in fact in breach of the law should first be presented to and approved by the court. This order of the court is to take immediate effect.”

In 2018, the Supreme Court granted an injunction protecting shanty town homes in New Providence as well as in Abaco “as is occupied by specific applicants” from destruction pending an outcome of a judicial review over the matter.

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