FRC and Archaeological and Historical Society saddened by government’s “refusal to abide” by agreement with National Trust

Joint press release From The Saint Lucia Archaeological and Historical Society and the Folk Research Centre:

The Saint Lucia Archaeological and Historical Society and the Folk Research Centre stand in solidarity with the Saint Lucia National Trust in its efforts to protect Saint Lucia’s patrimony and share in its disappointment and pain over the senseless demolition of the Royal Gaol by the Government, on Saturday 23 rd May 2020.

As the duly constituted agencies mandated to protect our heritage, we work for a more balanced approach to development and for a more active engagement of our membership in the design and approval of local and national projects that have an impact on our heritage assets. We are saddened by the Government’s refusal to abide by its agreement with the Trust and its partners to integrate the Royal Gaol into the design of the proposed Halls of Justice. Like the Trust, we support a project which is designed to bring much needed relief to the Police services and enhance the criminal justice system. We share the view that the project would have benefited significantly from the expertise of the Trust and the integration of the historic Royal Gaol building in the final configuration.

These actions leading to the demolition of this historic site set a precedent which can have immediate and long-term negative effects on the work of institutions which have been established to protect and develop the tangible and intangible heritage of Saint Lucia.

Moving forward, in light of the loss of several of our significant heritage assets including the Folk Research Centre’s home at Mount Pleasant, the Telephone Exchange and the Royal Gaol, we call on the Government of Saint Lucia to consult and meaningfully engage the appropriate agencies and institutions to develop strategies for the management of our heritage assets, as they are clearly under threat of loss in the face of development. It is a duty we owe to our past generations who developed these assets and the present and future generations who are yet to benefit from them.