October 4, 2013

Dear Sir,

This picture taken by myself on October 3rd shows a collapsing cottage hard on the roadside of Radnor Road almost directly opposite the entrance to Shelly Hall condominiums.

The cottage has been abandoned for at least two decades but its roof and front wall collapsed about a month ago, creating a depressing and untidy scene on a very heavily used road and a major potential hazard for children who are common in the area.

Is this to become a new sign of the times in this era of economic recession? I know of literally dozens of other such abandoned houses visible from our tourist routes, especially in Somerset, and many of those appear close to collapse as well. How ironic that there are still so many who want to build more and more condos and houses on our already suburban landscape when there are so many existing houses that could be repaired and recycled.

Is there any authority which can intervene in these cases in the interest of public safety and maintenance of a favourable Bermuda image for tourism?

David Wingate