Minister of Land and Environment, Dean Peart, has said that the United States Government has been given approval to construct its Embassy on premises located on Bamboo Avenue in Liguanea, but with instructions that the Embassy could only operate if it met specific criteria.

The criteria, as outlined by the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), are that in constructing the Embassy, adequate parking should be provided for at least 400 cars, and that the entrance to the Embassy should not be located on Bamboo Avenue.

Speaking at his post-Sectoral Debate press conference on June 23, Minister Peart informed the media that it would not be fair to allow 400 cars coming through Bamboo Avenue, “so we are making it a restricted entrance”.

Given the conditions that have been passed on to the United States Government, the Minister said “they must come to us and tell us how they are doing it, before any approval is given for the Embassy to open for business”.

The United States Government bought the land on which the proposed Embassy is to be located in 1986. According to the Land and Environment Minister, at the time, “they got consent to put up an Embassy in Liguanea”.

He explained that at the time, an application was made to the Town Planning Department, which did not express a problem with the construction of an Embassy.

However, in 1992 when construction began, Minister Peart said “work had to stop because they did not receive planning approval from the Kingston and
St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC) ... so we advised the Embassy that they would have to go through the proper procedure and make an application”.

Subsequently, the US Government proceeded to make the application, “and in the final analysis, the KSAC gave them permission to construct the Embassy”.

Meanwhile, Chief Executive Officer of NEPA, Patricia Sinclair McCalla, reiterated that in principle, while the United States Government had been authorized with planning approval and could construct the building, until particular issues such as parking, traffic management, and no access to the Embassy from Bamboo Avenue are rectified, they would be unable to occupy the building.

The construction of the embassy has been of concern for residents of the Liguanea community, who are strongly opposed to it being erected in the residential area.

Minister Peart told the press conference that he had been engaged in a number of meetings with residents from the community, along with the KSAC and NEPA, to allow them the appropriate forum to voice their concerns.

He pointed out that the U S Government had not been given any “special treatment”, noting that their building application went the route that any ordinary application would, before ultimately receiving consent from the KSAC.

Typically, a building application is submitted to the KSAC, after which it is sent to NEPA for approval, where a technical committee oversees the application. If the application is deemed satisfactory, it is re-submitted to the KSAC by NEPA, and then an authorization is given for construction to proceed.

“If anyone applies for permission to build, they would go through the same process like the US Embassy…it is a level playingfield,” Minister Peart emphasized.