FILE
Historic Fort Charlotte property.

Claudia Gardner, Gleaner Writer

Lucea, HANOVER:

The Hanover Parish Council is now awaiting a decision from the Office of the Commissioner of Lands, as to whether it will lease or sell the historic Fort Charlotte property to the council, for it to be developed as a tourist attraction.

In June this year, the council contracted a consultant to survey the lands at the 263-year-old fort, in an acquisition bid for the development of the property, after that recommendation was made by the Commissioner of Lands.

"The survey of the area requested by the Office of the Commissioner of Lands has been conducted and was submitted to that agency, a few months ago. The Commissioner of Lands has now responded, acknowledging receipt of the diagram and has advised that the matter is now being considered," said Secretary/ Manager of the council Alfred Graham.

Two options

"We have given the Commissioner of Lands two options. If the agency is not willing to sell, we will certainly enter into a long-term lease agreement, but our preference is ownership by purchase," Mr. Graham said.

In 2001, the Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo.) allocated $2 million for the commencement of restoration work at the fort. The TPDCo plans for Fort Charlotte included retaining the Georgian style of the fort and construction of facilities such as an amphitheatre, museum, restaurants and gift shops. However, those plans have failed to get under way as the National Works Agency (NWA) parish offices are still housed at the property.

In October 2003, Prime Minister P.J. Patterson had called for joint venture partnerships between the Government of Jamaica and private sector interests for the restoration of the fort. At the time, he said the Government would arrange for a lease on the facility.

Fort Charlotte was once a major tourist attraction because of the panoramic view of the Lucea Harbour and the Dolphin Head Mountains. It was ordered closed by the Commissioner of Lands in 1993, as it became unsafe, after sections of the walls began to fall apart.

Tourist attraction

In the meantime, Project Manager of the JAMPRO (Jamaica Promotions) Cricket Legacy Programme, Robert Stephens, on a recent visit to Lucea, urged the Hanover Local Organising Committee (LOC) of the Cricket World Cup 2007, to put a company in place to restore the historic Fort Charlotte as a tourist attraction. He said the property has tremendous potential and could easily attract private sector investment locally and overseas.

"Sites like Fort Charlotte need to be put on the front burner now in terms of their development as major cultural and heritage sites," Mr. Stephens said. "Whatever comes out of the development process, Hanover has a captive audience. You have some 3,000 rooms in Negril and you are going to have another 2,000 in Lucea that will give you a captive audience of visitors, which will come to an attraction like this and will be willing to spend their money."

"The Jamaican Diaspora is dying for projects like this to invest in," Mr. Stephens added. "I met with some of them in New York and their biggest complaint is that we have talked about investment opportunities and we have come up with 'zilch' to date. Fort Charlotte would be an ideal project because it could be owned by Jamaicans here and overseas."