Chairman of the Sangre Grande Regional Corporation, Martin Terry Rondon, is calling for Central Government to demolish three dilapidated buildings in Sangre Grande.
The buildings are the old Post Office, corner of River Road and the Eastern Main Road, the old fire station on Brierley Street and the old magistrate court on the Eastern Main Road.
“They have to be broken down. There is no possible chance for restoration. The post office alone had three fires. The business community needs the space,” Rondon told the media during a tour of the three buildings yesterday.
When T&T Guardian visited the first building, the post office, a street dweller was sleeping inside. Rondon said aside the buildings were a hazard for the people who sleep inside them. He said many times street dwellers left their cigarette butts alight in the wooden buildings. To date, Rondon said there have been three fires alone in the post office.
Aside for the fire hazard, Rondon said the buildings could be dangerous if an earthquake or hurricane were to occur. He said the debris along could injure someone.
Rondon said eight years ago there was a discussion with members of the National Trust to have the buildings restored. Most of the buildings are approximately 100 years old. However, he said, since then there has been little to no discussions regarding the matter the buildings became so dilapidated they could no longer be repaired.
“They cannot be restored. The candle will cost more than the funeral. There is no way they could pay so much to do a restoration. These buildings need to come down,” Rondon said.
He said it would make more sense for the buildings to be destroyed and have car parks or new buildings put in place to improve the area.
Make old Post Office a museum
Professor Winston Suite, chairman of the National Trust, said while the fire station could be demolished, he does not think that the post office or the court house should be destroyed.
“It is unfortunate that a lot of these buildings that represent unique architectural structures have been abandoned or condemned. The court house... that building goes back to 1911. It is a whole complex. There is so much history there,” he added.
Suite said that the post office occupied such a small space it did not have enough room to be made into a car park. He suggested if the buildings were to be restored, then the Sangre Grande Regional Corporation could turn the area into a museum.
“We should not demolish those buildings. Buildings pose no threats to people, people are threats to buildings. Why don’t they use the post office as a museum? Sangre Grande is a historic town and a museum would be ideal there. It is a historical architectural structure,” he added.
Suite said while the National Trust may not have all the funds to restore the historical buildings, it was seeking the assistance of the private sector to assist with funding.