The redevelopment which is taking place on this island’s most northerly town is being questioned by the Barbados National Trust.
In a press release issued on 20th May 2010, the National Trust says, “Speightstown, which has so much potential for development as a late eighteenth century port town, the building fabric is being slowly but surely eroded.”
According to the Trust the latest victim of this ongoing and short sighted philistinism is the destruction of what was arguably one of the best examples of a Georgian townhouse to be found in Speightstown. This structure, previously located on Church Street was allowed to fall into disrepair but was still salvageable. It contributed to the charm of Speightstown and like Beauty and the Beast, contrasted sharply with the tasteless modern structure on its left. Today, it is a gravelled parking lot.
The Barbados National Trust stands firm against the bland homogenization which is replacing originality and those who seem bent on destroying any and everything which stamps us as different and unique. To this end, they have been working closely with Town & Country Planning, architects and owners to insure that developments at historic sites proceed in a manner acceptable to all involved.
It is noted in the press release that there are the psychological costs associated with a loss of identity and a lack of social and ethical standards. There are also economic costs, as we deliberately grind away our uniqueness that brands us as Barbadian, a distinctive place, a place of value, one worth visiting. There are no appreciable long term benefits to Barbados morphing into the Costa del Sol or Miami. Quite the contrary. There are serious long term economic losses and costs associated with our headlong rush to abandon the structures of our past and replace them with dubious architectural concoctions of little merit.
Moreover the Trust contends that tourism is highly competitive and there must be some lesson to be learned from the fact that our competitors in the Caribbean and elsewhere are busily engaged in conserving and retaining their past, whereas we are hell bent on throwing out the baby with the bath water.
