Mobile provider barred - Authorities prevent new cellular company from building towers

Winston Sill
This site on Yoro Crescent, Three Oaks Gardens in Kingston, where incoming cellular provider Centennial Digital plans to build a tower, stood empty yesterday in the wake of protests from residents and a stop order from local building and planning authorities.

By Trudy Simpson, Staff Reporter

STOP ORDERS from local building and planning authorities were drafted yesterday to prevent incoming mobile phone provider, Centennial Digital, from building cellular towers in two communities in St. Andrew.

The orders were prepared and passed to environmental wardens to deliver them to the company, public information officer at the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), Rosemarie Chung, said yesterday.

NEPA and the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC), accused Centennial of starting the construction of cellular towers on Red Hills Road and in the residential Three Oaks Gardens community, without approval.

City Engineer, Tex Innerarity, said he was informed that Centennial had directed its contractors to begin building in Three Oaks because it was either expecting or had received building approval.

"I found it unusual that this would have happened. The company has been very careful. They have made all applications and have waited patiently. We have been in contact with them and they had not started any other work without approval. It seems as if it's a genuine error somewhere but I can't say how," he told The Gleaner.

President of the Three Oaks Citizens Association, Vincent Morrison, welcomed the stop order, adding that the authorities should take their action a step further and permanently bar Centennial from building on the site.

The site is Centennial's second option in that area after the community, on June 25, 2001, refused to grant permission to the company, which wanted to build a tower near to a playing field.

"We were indeed surprised when they started construction. To me, it is indecent. It shows so much disrespect for the people in the community. The site should not be placed so near to a community," said Mr. Morrison.

A source also told The Gleaner that residents in the affected Red Hills Road area had become restless, and on Thursday protested against the construction.

They reportedly fear health complications from cellular radiation, depreciation in property values once the tower is erected and noise pollution from a planned generator.

The protest resulted in the discontinuation of work at the site, which was empty yesterday except for a mountain of soil and a gaping hole.

Centennial employees could not tell The Gleaner whether work would resume or give a date for its resumption, stating that chief operations office, James Beneda, was off the island and that other top officials were out of office.

But Mr. Morrison said if work were to resume, the association would be seeking an injunction against the company.

"Once any work starts, we will be there making our voice heard," he promised.

Meanwhile, NEPA is yet to explain who could be responsible for any erroneous advisory to Centennial, outlining that it had been granted approval to build a cellular tower at 5 Barbican Close.

Sources told The Gleaner that NEPA later advised the cellular provider that approval had not been granted but was deferred pending further discussions with residents in the area.

Officials were still unwilling to comment on the issue yesterday but NEPA chief executive officer, Franklin McDonald, is to issue a statement next week, said Ms. Chung.

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