53 Ruinous Buildings to be demolished by City Hall

Georgetown: Council at its last Statutory meeting held on Monday, August 22, 2016, passed a resolution for the demolition of 53 (Fifty Three) Buildings in the City. The Mayor and Councillors of the City of Georgetown would be moving to demolish 53 (fifty) three buildings in the City that are considered to be in a ruinous state and are also injurious to health. An audit conducted by the City Engineer Department revealed that 53 such buildings are situated in South Ruimveldt, South Cummingsburg, La Penitence, Bourda,  Kingston, Wortmanville Lodge, Werk-en-Rust, Charlestown, Alberttown, Campbellville, Bourda, Lacytown, Prashad Nagar, New Town Kitty, Campbellville, Bel Air and Stabroek. The buildings identified are hazardous and should any of them collapse the danger to life and limb and other buildings in close proximity would be catastrophic. Town Clerk Royston King said that the Georgetown City Council has a responsibility to preserve public safety and health. King explained that some of these structures serve as a haven for criminal elements. King noted that the Municipal and District Council Act empowers the Council to safeguard, demolish and remove dangerous buildings. In 2015, the Council demolished four 4 buildings in: Kingston, South Cummingsburg, Albouystown and Kitty. The Council has observed that some property owners have migrated leaving their buildings unattended resulting in a state of acute disrepairs. Some of the buildings to be demolished include:  buildings located at100 Regent and Cummings Street Bourda, 49, Barrack and High Street Kingston, 184-185 Waterloo street South Cummingsburg, 18 North Road Lacytown, 98 Middle Road La Penitence and the GMC buildings located at Blue Mountain Road North Ruimveldt.  According to The Laws of Guyana  Municipal and District Council Act Chapter 28:01, if any building or anything affixed thereon is deemed by the City Engineer to be in ruinous state and dangerous to persons residing therein, or to passers-by, or to the occupiers of neighbouring buildings, he shall, if he thinks fit, immediately cause a proper hoard or fence to be put up for the protection of passers-by, and shall cause notice in writing to be served on the owner of such building, requiring him forthwith to take down, secure, or repair such building or other thing. If such owner do not begin to repair, take down, or secure such building or other thing within three days after such notice has been served and complete such repairs, or take down or secure such premises as speedily as the nature of the case will admit, the City Engineer may make complaint thereof before a magistrate of Georgetown, and it shall be lawful for such magistrate to order the owner or in his default the occupier (if any) of such building or other thing, to take down, rebuild, repair, or otherwise secure to the satisfaction of the City Engineer the same or such part thereof as appears to the magistrate to be in a dangerous state within a time to be fixed by him. In case the same be not taken down, repaired, rebuilt, or otherwise secured within the time so limited, or if no owner or occupier can be found on whom to serve such order, the Council shall with all convenient speed, cause all or so much of such buildings, or other thing, as shall be in a ruinous condition and dangerous or aforesaid manner as shall be requisite; and all the expenses of putting up every such board or fence and of taking down, repairing, rebuilding, or securing such building, or other thing, shall be recovered by the Council by summary execution and the said property shall be executable for the expenses and costs. The Council is in receipt of reports from residents who reside in close proximity to these buildings. The first buildings to be demolished are those that are unoccupied.Those that are in a ruinous state and are still occupied, the Council is preparing to serve notices on the owners and occupiers, to cease to let and cease to occupy such buildings.