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Fraser’s vision of future for waterfront

Park vision: Bertram Fraser has been given the right to set up a summer concession stand at Waterfront Park, North Shore. Mr Fraser has thoughts on how to redevelop the area into a community centre.

The vision for a series of projects for the eastern edge of the Government House waterfront is to create a community park which can be beneficial for government, tourists and residents.

The projects were proposed by Bertram Fraser who hopes to make the neighbourhood where he grew up more accommodating.

The projects include a fish fry, vendors, a wharf, car park, floating dock as well as offering movies in the park from Viewpoint Media Systems.

The project is based around similar areas in Antigua, Barbados and the Bahamas that have become popular for tourists and residents, according to Mr Fraser. He considers it to be a more local feeling Harbour Nights running seven day a week.

“I offered whole solutions to the problems that I saw in the community park that wasn’t being utilised as a community park,” he said.

“If one can take a 21-year-old with a three-year-old child and get them to walk through a park and feel comfortable without intimidation then we have a park.

“If we can do that at Botanical Gardens or Victoria Park, then we should be able to do it on the Waterside on the North Shore or Government House.

“The property has been neglected for a number of years which was admitted to by Parks.

“Their address was ‘Listen we understand that we’ve let it fall back and it does need attention and we will actually put that attention towards that park’ and I said great, that’s step one.

“I think it was neglected because of the priorities put in other areas, you have to realise that the ducking stool had its apparatus moved from there to St George’s following the assassination of the Governor.”

“That land which was always public and being used. Tourists who used to come to the Black Watch pass and go to the Ducking Stool are now visiting St George’s.

“If you leave something to become derelict it becomes infested with roaches and rats and then you have a harder task.

“I would hope that the visionaries and the people in power could see the sense and the logic in the proposal.

“It’s a good jump-start for tourism, it’s a good jump-start for the people and it allows us to integrate the locals, the tourists, the people who have been here for years, as well as the Government.”

“We have congestion in Middle Road coming straight down into town first thing in the morning to the end of night

“It would make sense to go from Dockyard to Ducking Stool then minibus or take a walk trail straight into town; it’s a shorter distance,

“It’s less than fifteen minutes travel which frees up traffic, makes more revenue for Government coming from the boats and it gives a livelihood to the old vendors that we’ve ignored as we grew our International Business industry.”

Development to improve the aesthetics of the area is currently ongoing.