BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - THE ongoing land dispute between the government and the New Birth Gospel Tabernacle church has engaged the attention of lawyers for both parties, with the hope of coming to an amicable decision on the way forward.
SKNVibes was told that the land dispute stems from a petition signed by residents of the community, complaining of noises emanating from the church and also of the church being constructed in a residential area.
That forced the Development Control and Planning Board to reverse the decision of having the church constructed in that particular area of Cabbage Tree, Cayon.
Back in 2000, the church was given the plot of land to construct the religious institution.
However, instead of building a full worship centre then, Bishop Williams and his congregation constructed a temporary structure, with plans of expansion.
At a media conference held under tents yesterday (Mar. 5), where hundreds of worshippers gathered, the Bishop told reporters that the delay in constructing the centre was because at that stage, the church population was relatively small.
With a growing congregation, the Bishop decided last year to demolish the existing facility and move full steam ahead with constructing a larger, more-permanent structure.
But that was brought to a screeching halt when a letter from the Development Control and Planning Board indicated that it was revoking permission for the church to continue construction.
“In July 2016, the New Birth Tabernacle proceeded on the early stages of preparation for construction of the new sanctuary... The property has been fully paid for and we are in possession of the associate deed.
“In 2016 October, we received a letter from the Building Control and Planning Board, which sort of indicated that they have received a petition from our neighbours. We later learnt of that petition. The letter contained a notice revoking planning permission for the construction of our church,” the Bishop disclosed.
The Church relocated to a temporary site and services were held under tents. Bishop Williams explained that the agreement was for them to use that private piece of land for a year while their permanent structure was under construction. And with that year drawing to a close, the Church sought legal advice and responded to the letters.
The Church expressed its willingness to the Development Control and Planning Board, to accept an alternative piece of land once it (the Church) is not disadvantaged.
Additionally, they noted that they would be looking for compensation for monies spent on the originally-issued piece of land.
The Church’s lawyer later held several discussions with the Attorney General with the hope of coming up with a decision and possible new location.
“Currently, I believe that we have been sufficiently consulted and our lawyers are seeking to work along with the Attorney General’s office to come up with a suitable resolution,” he added.
The AG’s Office had identified another piece of land for the church. SKNVibes understands that work on that piece of land had begun when the owner visited the area and indicated that it was private property.
The church is now left to remove its belongings from the woman’s property and wait for another piece of land to be allocated.
All of this contention comes as the church’s land remains unoccupied, even as work had started on digging for the foundation for the institution.
