The long-awaited redevelopment of Temple Yard, a long-time craft and cultural hub in The City, is set to begin this year, but some vendors have expressed uncertainty about their future in the revamped space, Barbados TODAY has learned.
While officials promise transparency and inclusivity, concerns persist among artisans regarding relocation and guarantees of their return.
Communications consultant Joy-Ann Haigh, spokeswoman for Barbados Tourism Investment Inc. (BTI), disclosed that construction would begin sometime this year. She could not provide any dates.
Haigh said there were a few kinks to sort out before the area could be secured, hoarding erected, and the Urban Development Corporation could take over the site to upgrade the craft centre where the artisans sell handcrafted leather goods, furniture, local produce and other items.
In 2019, ahead of the island’s 53rd year of independence, Prime Minister Mia Mottley announced that her administration wanted to “remove every stain of discrimination against Barbadians”, especially the Rastafarian community. She said she wanted to foster the spirit of inclusiveness and fairness and proposed the redevelopment of the cultural space located in Cheapside, The City.
Temple Yard had fallen into a dilapidated state over the past several years, with most, if not all of the stalls looking run down.
CEO of Haigh Communications Joyann Haigh. (FP)
Last year, ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in June, the artisans were informed that they would be relocated. On December 18 and 19, the majority of them were moved.
Robert Maloney, spokesman of the Barbados Association of Retailers, Vendors, and Entrepreneurs (BARVEN), which has been involved in the consultations about the improved Temple Yard, complained that the vendors who were not moved were unsure of their next move and overall, they wanted assurance in writing that they would get the opportunity to have the first option of selecting stalls when the redevelopment was completed.
“We wish that the process could be a little more transparent where the persons that are a part of that community should be given assurance that after completion of the construction, they would be relocated to one of the new stalls,” he said.
“So there are a couple of discrepancies going on where some of the vendors feel somewhat discriminated against. But we are waiting to see how things unfold because we are being promised that upon completion, a person would be given first choice. But that is word of mouth, a lot of the vendors would rather they had something in writing.”
Additionally, Maloney said, vendors who have not been included in the move to Pelican have not received any reassurance about their future, leaving them uncertain about the prospects for their businesses.
“Some vendors feel discriminated against as certain charges are being brought against them saying that they are not active and they don’t ply certain businesses,” he said.
He added that the vendors who were not relocated were also out of the loop about how the development project was progressing.
Robert Maloney, spokesman of the Barbados Association of Retailers, Vendors, and Entrepreneurs (BARVEN). (FP)
But Haigh denied the claims that the artisans were being left out of consultations. She explained that a survey was done before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, which found that there were about 24 legitimate artisans operating at Temple Yard.
About 15 of them were relocated to the Pelican Craft Centre and the others opted to wait until the redevelopment was completed and decided to ply their trade elsewhere, she said.
Haigh said consultations were carried out with everyone.
She told Barbados TODAY: “We would have done our due diligence in terms of having meetings with all the artisans, longstanding artisans who had a legitimate claim and those who did not. There are some claims that are being investigated but we informed them that they will have the opportunity to apply for a space at the new Temple Yard and have to indicate what they are proposing to sell. However, during our investigations, we realised that there were some structures that were empty for a long time and we had no evidence that products of any kind were being sold.”
According to the BTI spokesperson, ahead of construction, the artisans would be formally informed of timelines and dates.
“We are currently in the process of deconstructing stalls; some people wanted to remove the stalls themselves and those who needed assistance, we offered it. Some people also opted to relocate on their own and those who could not were offered assistance,” she said.
Haigh explained that after the deconstruction was completed, which she said she did not envision would take a long time, the area would be secured, hoarding would be erected and construction would begin. Some of the artisans, she added, wanted to reuse some of the material from the stalls and it was given to them.
Haigh added that if artisans were experiencing any challenges or had any queries they should reach out to her or Barry Atherley, citizens engagement officer in the Prime Minister’s Office.
sheriabrathwaite@barbadostoday.bb
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