The City Council is advising business-owners against carrying out construction and other unauthorised works to its pavements and bridges, which is illegal.
In a press release, the Council said it is concerned about the arbitrary elevation of portions of its pavements in front of some business and bridges, and barriers placed on parapets, particularly along Regent and Water streets and other central areas in Georgetown.
“Such actions have resulted in an uneven and untidy arrangement disrupting the aesthetics of certain parts of the city and affecting the general business environment,” City Council PRO Royston King said in the release.
A number of businesses involved in this practice have said that they have made these adjustments to prevent their premises from flooding during heavy rainfall; however, these modifications are injurious to the health of persons who are visually-impaired and those who use wheelchairs and other physical supports, such as canes and walkers.
In addition, some of these same businesses are guilty of improper disposal of garbage, which results in the overtopping of the Council’s drains and canals into their premises. Other business owners often pay indigent persons to dump garbage in locations far from their premises but do not ensure that the refuse is discarded in the proper manner and in established dump sites, further resulting in waste entering the city drains.
The City Council is advising the public that the law stipulates that prior permission must be obtained from the city engineer, in writing, before building works can be carried out. “Under the same law, the City Engineer is authorised to dismantle all illegal construction workers in the city,” the release added.
