The Marsh Folly community in Pembroke has little faith in Government promises — and it’s hard to blame them.

In 1987 residents were told their unsightly landfill would be transformed into a public park that would be the envy of the country. Months passed, then years, then decades and the park never became a reality. This year marks the 20th anniversary of that broken promise.

“It’s been like this so long I can’t even hardly remember,” said Muriel Roach standing just outside her home.

She’s on Perimeter Lane where she has lived with her husband for 40 years. In that time she has experienced Marsh Folly as a dump, an open air incinerator and now a horticultural waste plant. Mrs. Roach easily recalled when Harvard University researchers showed up on her doorstep in 1986 to talk about the Government’s master plan to beautify her neighbourhood.

She said: “I remember when they interviewed us and they were at Bishop Spencer and people all went to look at the plans.”

It was an exciting time on Perimeter Lane. So much so that Mrs. Roach politely excused herself, disappeared into her home for five minutes, and re-emerged with a copy of the actual plan Government gave to her family two decades ago.

She held in her hands a comprehensive fully colour 30-plus-page promise of rolling fields, trees and walking trails.

For all these years the immaculately cared for document sat on Mrs. Roach’s bookshelf. She would never once think of throwing it away.

She said: “Look it’s so pretty. This is what we were looking forward to. Of course we would keep it.”

Perimeter Lane is a narrow road that hugs the north side of the Marsh Folly Horticultural Waste Site.

The homes on this street are closer to the former landfill than any other neighbourhood, and as a result, the broken promise has perhaps affected people here more than anywhere else.

This collection of mostly homeowners has lived through the noise and the stench, but neither is as offensive to them as the unfulfilled promise.

Terry Yarde, who is a couple doors down from the Roaches, said flatly: “I know Government is long-winded but come on!”

Ms Yarde has a 13-year-old daughter named Micala. She once believed her child would grow up with a backyard that resembled Central Park in New York. She doesn’t believe that anymore.

She said: “They’ve promised so many things and it has not come true.

“They can’t say they ran out of money. This is one of the richest islands going. They have no excuse.”

One week ago The Royal Gazette asked a Ministry of Works and Engineering spokesperson about the Government’s future plans for Marsh Folly. No response has been offered yet.

The original 1987 promise was made by a United Bermuda Party government under the leadership of two Works and Engineering Ministers Quinton Edness and Clarence Terceira.

It was 11 years from the time the pledge was put into writing until the UBP lost power to the Progressive Labour Party in 1998.

Since the PLP took over, it has had nine years to either carry forward the UBP’s promise or deliver on a new one. Neither has happened.

However, there have been plenty of noticeable modern day improvements around Marsh Folly. There is a playground and basketball court along Parsons Road.

Also a footpath is going in near the Pembroke Marsh Nature Reserve.

But just one look at the 20-year-old master plan and it’s clear the recent improvements fall well short of the original promise.

On Perimeter Lane there is no singular scapegoat.

When the long time inhabitants of this neighbourhood say the word ‘Government’ they seem to mean both political parties — neither has managed to champion their cause.

And perhaps both are equally to blame for the community’s neglect.

But even though the people on Perimeter Lane, and in other parts of Pembroke East, have a compelling story, many are reluctant to tell it. They prefer not to ruffle any feathers.

One man, who didn’t offer his name, talked about that aspect with The Royal Gazette in the kitchen of his home.

He said: “I think the neighbours down here are not aggressive enough to go at the Government. I noticed that when I first came.

“A lot of the neighbours are very passive, they don’t go after them. They think they’re going to be subject to harassment, land tax and everything else. Some people, like my wife, don’t like controversy.”

The man’s wife grew up in the area. He’s been in the neighbourhood about six years.

They have a beautifully designed house with a high-end kitchen, polished wood floors, and stylish windows.

But the view through two of those windows is a stark contrast to the ambience the couple has created inside.

While motioning at the windows the host said: “It’s very frustrating. You sit here and you look at those bags. I tell my wife everyday, ‘Those damn bags!’ I can’t get over that.”

From the family’s dining room, it’s easy to see a mountain of tree stumps at least six storeys high as well as what looks like torn pieces of blue garbage bags sticking out of the ground. The sight is unavoidable.

The other homes on the street are painted nicely and landscaped beautifully, for the most part.

There are recently planted rose bushes in one yard, an anti-litter sign in another. The natural perfume smell of a Bermuda breeze is replaced on Perimeter Lane with a different aroma — something close to the smell of fertiliser.

Josette Brimmer built a 27-pupil pre-school on this street called Creative Touch.

She is in the perfect position to benefit from parklands next door, but her expectations are understandably low.

She said: “I just feel like they put priority where they want to put priority. You see the (affordable housing) units they’re putting up down the back?

“That’s priority, so they’re going up. The park didn’t go up, but they’ll put those up in a heartbeat.

“They need homes for people and all of that, but with all of those people down there they need somewhere to play. You put the park out there, they can play out there.”

Affordable housing has become a front burner national issue because the cry for change was so loud no politician dare ignore it.

But on Perimeter Lane where the cries aren’t nearly as boisterous, or urgent, the 1987 plan has been on the back burner since about 1989 when it was approved by a UBP Cabinet.

When asked who was to blame for the foot dragging, Ms Brimmer had a clear answer.

She said: “Government — whether it’s UBP or PLP. None of them have done it, they haven’t done a thing.”

Killa Wolffe was walking through the neighbourhood when stopped by The Royal Gazette. He thinks the neglect experienced in this neighbourhood has done a lot more than just dampen spirits.

He said: “It would damage you mentally, yes it would because they’ve built a dream and it never happened, it was never completed.”

Mr. Wolffe is in his late 50s. He doesn’t live on Perimeter Lane, but lives in the general vicinity. And like so many who occupy the area historically referred to as Back of Town, the family history is long.

Mrs. Roach said she and her husband thought about leaving after all those years of burning garbage, but in the end decided it was more important to preserve the family’s geographic. She believes a lot of her neighbours feel the same way.

Mrs. Roach said: “I wanted to leave, but financially could not afford to leave. At one point we could have left because the prices weren’t sky high, but you know how families are — this is the homestead. Some families just like to stay in the homestead. My husband’s father had built the house.”

Every resident who agreed to be interviewed believes the promise of a public park will never be kept — at least not like the one pledged in 1987.

So even if there was a new master plan suddenly unveiled, the people on Perimeter Lane would probably just look the other way.

Too many broken promises

Perimeter Lane residents do not believe a park will ever be completed