NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The chairman of a family island commonage committee said yesterday that he was "beyond ecstatic" that authorities had responded quickly to thwart the construction of an illegal structure in a local community, telling Eyewitness News, "we're just sick and tired of this."
Amidst growing concerns over the unregulated construction of buildings and the expansion of shantytowns, the Spanish Wells Commonage Committee last October instituted a one-year ban on building in the Blackwood area of north Eleuthera.
The ban which went into effect on October 25, 2022 is on "any and all building, including additions to existing structures or making connection to BPL f
or power supply" in the community, which is within the Spanish Wells Commonage Land.
"This lady came form Abaco and apparently came here trying to build this house," said Ivanhoe Sweeting, chairman of the Spanish Wells Commonage Committe. "The persons building the house were told two days ago to stop and said they were not stopping."
Sweeting said that as a result, he contacted local authorities.
"I was very pleased with the quick response from the police, Immigration and Ministry of Works. I was beyond ecstatic with their quick response. Everyone showed up. We were humane about it.
"We gave the lady a week to take the structure down so she doesn't lose her building materials," Sweeting continued. "She can go somewhere else and look to get a piece of land. The authorities were very clear that if the house wasn't taken down they were coming back for her."
Sweeting said that while there have been a few other incidents of persons contravening the Committee's ban, none had gotten as far as this most recent case in the Blackwood community.
"This was the first one that had walls up and rafters. Within two days they had the house half finished. This wasn't a little thing, it was a 30'x35' structure with press-treated T1-11 plywood and pressure-treated 2'x6' and not scrap lumber. The lady said she can't afford rent but I saw $5,000 to $6,000 worth of materials," claimed Sweeting.
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