Pon De Edge demolished...

 Owner to relocate over site controversy

 By VonDez Phipps
Reporter-SKNVibes.com

Owner of Pon De Edge, Barry Wyatt of Sandy Point, told SKNVibes that he was given notice to remove his structure from its current location because it was affecting the ongoing construction of a pier facilitated by Director of St. Kitts Marine Works Ltd., Regiwell Francis.

Wyatt said he had communicated with Francis on the issue and notified him that he would have commenced dismantling the structure on Monday, August 11. He stated that while some materials were removed on that day, he had to discontinue the dismantling process because of the lack of transportation and decided to resume on the following day.

Wyatt however claimed that while undergoing a series of tests at the Joseph N France General Hospital, he was informed that Francis had demolished a section of his structure without his notification.

“Two months after I had erected the structure, I received a letter from the Planning Unit which stated that the structure was somewhat illegal. He [Francis] sent police, who checked for permit and liquor license, and told me that the Sunday session would have to be the last. If we were given up until the Friday, we would have taken it down and we would have all been happy..~~Adz:Right~~

“The thing is, Reggie saw me building it for weeks and he said nothing until only two days before the structure had been completed…then he started to complain. The thing is, Reggie didn’t even start working until about a week or two after he destroyed the structure,” Wyatt explained.

Francis however said he repeatedly tried to contact the owners to let them know that the structure would interfere with the work that is ongoing, but allowed them to continue on the condition that it would only be used for a Father’s Day party.

Francis added that subsequent to the Father’s Day session, the structure was still up and other parties were still being held.

Francis also informed that he wrote to the Planning Unit, which subsequently issued a warning to the owner to remove the structure immediately. He further mentioned that on the Sunday of the final session, he took a police officer to speak to the owner and confirmed he understood that he had to relocate by the following day.

“Monday I came and I did not see any effort whatsoever of them trying to move. I looked inside and coolers were still there, so I took them out, threw out the water, left the coolers outside, and I personally went into my crane…and I used the excavator to push the structure back to where the pallets were, trying to save the bamboo, the galvanize and as much material as possible. I made every effort to move the materials out of the way so that my workers can continue constructing the pier,” Francis said.

He also explained that the pier was built to accommodate a Travelift, which is used to remove vessels from the water onto the site where the St. Kitts Marine Works Ltd., is located, and the structure was impeding the ongoing construction.

Francis further explained that construction had to be completed in preparation for the hurricane season, and the structure was directly in the path where boulders had to be placed in the Caribbean Sea as protection for the pier.

Management of Pon De Edge expressed its disappointment in the way that its structure was removed and hinted that compensation would be sought. The owners claimed that apart from the manner in which Francis went about demolishing the structure, the only thing that was really destroyed is the “coming together of the three neighbouring communities”, which had been waiting for a party site for a long time.

They made it clear that the Pon De Edge Bar is not dead and promised that on relocation, it would be larger and much better.