Mr. Mark Cummins
Permanent Secretary
Ministry Of Transport, Works And Maintenance
The Pine
St. Michael
April 25,2019.
Please Accept This 4thLetter Only By Email
Dear Mr. Cummins
Sir, When the window is closed to pertinent facts regarding the circumstances of a situation, read an illegally created situation which may lead to a dangerous flooding situation- “unfairness” goes through the door and the disadvantaged become most vulnerable.
Some of the facts why the Clarke’s Road residential area was not a flooding area before 2003 is attributed to exemplary behaviour by locals and Town and Country planning Department. The competent Officers at planning made very wise decisions that protected a vital part of the natural watercourse @Clarke’s Road i.e. from vehicular traffic with deadend roads from the West, North, and South.
The channel was deep enough for capacity and naturally sloped for fast run-off. It never overflowed from heavy rainfall during the years 1978-2003. I confirm this withut challenge BECAUSE of my familiarity with this area. I have resided @Clarke’s Road since 1982. There was never vehicular through traffic from Appleby, Clarke’s Road or Chapel Gap to, across, within, over or along the channel of this natural watercourse.
Mr. Permanent Secretary the facts as to how the Clarke’s Road residential area has become a flooding area are:
In 2002 a British ex-pat name Pat Brayshaw commissioned the services of heavy equipment and wrongfully altered the natural watercourse from Appleby on the South, along an open lot of an absentee. She levelled the channel defined banks from a very vital part of the channel and cut a road across the watercourse to her lot on the North.
Later in 2002 Pat Brayshaw persisted with the illegal act by altering the channel by wall from boulders within the channel to the land mark middle and backfilled. That process clearly narrowed the channel and provided an increase in the land level along the channel that formed a yard-cum-private road, THEN, joined a previously cut across road creating an illegal private road across within and along the watercourse channel.
Even if permission was given by MTW Minister to place a private road in that manner, it would still be wrong, unjustified and discriminatory. Furthermore, by allowing the said private road to stay in this natural watercourse channel for almost 16 years after what happened in less than a year after the alteration, is clearly unconscionable. Due to the fact the build up boulders wall within the channel not only reduced floods fast run-off, it formed the North channel bank for a favourable protection for the wrongdoer side of the channel, while the cut-out for the road across” from the South Channel bank, was callously not replaced. Those callous wrongdoings to the channel clearly caused the first flooding situation that I have experience in my years of residing adjacent to this natural watercourse channel. Thereafter, recurring floods have leaked from the cut-out South channel bank, the narrowed channel obstructs and redirect spread flooding over my property, caused erosion damage to my backyard, front-yard and made Clarke’s Road the new watercourse.
Sir, there is no need for me to repeat details here, how complaining to Drainage Unit Officers turned out, except to note that Officers dilly-dally for over a year until one honest Officer told me that Drainage Unit is not equip to rectify the watercourse channel, He directed me to MTW, Deputy CTO. Philip Tudor.
Sir. It must be stated here for obvious reasons, The actions of Ministry of Transport and Works (MTW- MTW&M) two Top Technical Officers, I will make details short, and to the point.
Sir. During a telephone conversation in 2004 with Deputy CTO. Mr. Tudor in which I outlined what happened to the natural watercourse channel. The altering, building of the private Road, the damage it caused – Mr. Tudor promised to visit the watercourse site in my presence to investigate. Up to this day I have not met Mr. Tudor. After a duration of months, in a follow up telephone conversation with Mr. Tudor, he stated the placing of the private road is illegal, and pledge to have the boulders removed and restore the channel. After many inactions only comfort promises from other telephone conversations with Mr. Tudor for nearly a year. I verbally complained to CTO. Frank Thornhill who officially pledged his agreement and approval of the rectification to be carry-out to the watercourse channel made by Deputy CTO. Mr. Tudor. The rectifying is yet to be done.
Sir. The illegal placing of the private road, clearly contravened the “Prevention of Floods Act 235”. It created a dangerous flooding situation that caused flooding damage. The authority to execute flood work is the responsibility of MTW, CTO. Mr. Thornhill, who had the authority and duty (up to his retirement ) to execute, or authorised an Officer to do flood works to remedy such flooding situation.
Deputy CTO. Mr. Tudor who certainly would have acted as MTW, CTO. during 2004-to-date would have also held the authority and duty of the “prevention of floods Act 235”. Yet, both Top Technical Officers costantly ignored my pleas for a remedy to the illegally created dangerous flooding situation for the past 15+ years. They wilfully neglected their duty by not carrying-out the necessary rectification required of them to stop the wrongful redirecting of floods flow to my property. By doing such they knowingly discriminated against my household by allowing what caused the dangerous flooding situation to prolonged, causing further flooding damage, and continue to pose flooding harms, ranging from damage to property, to loss of life, God forbid.
While the said two Top Technical Officers prolonged their reckless inactions to cause flooding. The broken, narrowed channel was severely altered and made worse to further disadvantage my household. This is because of an obvious biased process, carried-out when laying pipes for BWA by Arthur’s Construction. Mr. Arthur used bullying action, then purposely placed the pipes into a part of my backyard that was damaged by flooding erosion, due to the broken and narrowed channel redirecting spread flooding over my backyard. Mr. Arthur reposition the channel, into that part of my backyard and made it appear as the original channel, aiming at my home, and Clarke’s Road Residential Area.
The then MP for St. James Central, Hon Kerrie Symmonds ontervened, set up a meeting at the watercourse site, both Top Technical Officers or others Officers from MTW were unavailable for the meeting, that turned out to be an exercise in futility. Base on the fact that MTW is responsible for watercourses, also after BWA completed a task. Therefore, the inactions to the risk prolonged, and overlooking of further altering when Mr. Clarke removed the channel banks from the across road to upstream where the floods emerges, that area is now driveway and garden.
MTW, CTO Frank Thornhill and Deputy CTO Philip Tudor not only wilfully neglected their duties by prolonged inactions to the remedying of dangerous flooding situation. The said two Top Technical Officers, or Officers under they authority knowingly Complicit with Hon. George Hutson, DLP, MP for St. James Central leading up to the 2013 General Election, and confirmed to aiding and abetting by discriminatory maintenance.
Tasked MTW work men paved the said illegal private road under the watchful eye of Hon. George Hutson. Even though, the said two Top Technical Officers considered the said private road to be illegally placed, they officially pledge to removing the boulders and restoring the channel. Yet, the said two Top Technical Officers aided and abetted or did not used they authority to stop it. Any which way the two Top Technical Officers grossly neglected they duties.
Whoever the beneficiaries are concerning the concerted complicit aiding and abetting a seemingly wealthy British ex-pat to wrongfully placed a private road across, within, and along a natural watercourse channel. The cover-up have started, Deputy CTO. Tudor have gone as far as lying about his inaction to the dangerous flooding situation, in an email to me, copied to the Hon. Prime Minister. Mia Mottley, and Hon Minister Symmonds, MP for St. Janes Central.
Sir. An Urgent redress to this wrongful dangerous flooding situation is needed.
Your faithfully
Alden Blackman
Resident of Clarke’s Road
St. James
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