By JADE RUSSELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

jrussell@tribunemedia.net

WORK has begun to prepare the Gladstone Road site where the government plans to relocate New Providence’s long-troublesome roadside garages, newly appointed Environment and Natural Resources Minister Zane Lightbourne said yesterday.

“Infrastructure work has to be completed before the property can be used,” he said, adding that he has been in talks with the Ministers of Works and of Urban Renewal and Housing, who are collaborating on the effort.

The initiative follows decades of public frustration over garages operating in residential areas and along major roads, where mechanics have carried out repairs, bodywork, and car stripping on verges and sidewalks. Several fires have broken out at these sites, prompting repeated calls for government action.

“It’s already been too long in terms of these garages being moved over decades,” Mr Lightbourne said. “That’s why the government has taken steps to already identify the land, and I think that it’s going to begin to move quickly once we have completed the infrastructure. I think it has been moving fairly quickly for the time it was established.”

He said the government will also hold discussions with the larger garage owners to ensure a smooth transition once the site is ready.

Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis has previously described the issue as complex, warning that without a designated space, the problem could simply shift elsewhere. In March, Minister of Works Clay Sweeting said an inter-ministerial committee formed by the prime minister had started consultations with garage owners to design a relocation plan that works for all parties.

The late Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Vaughn Miller, who spearheaded the initiative before his death in September, said during the mid-year budget debate that major garages on Joe Farrington Road, Soldier Road, and Augusta Street had agreed to relocate to the Gladstone Road area. Funding for the relocation was included in the current national budget.

Mr Lightbourne, who previously served as Minister of State and was appointed to the substantive Cabinet post following Mr Miller’s death, said the Office of the Prime Minister granted the land for the project. He said the government is determined to see the decades-old issue resolved once and for all.

“We know that the public is anxious for this to be done, and we’re not going to be satisfied until we have these garages moved out of the community,” he said.

He also paid tribute to Mr Miller for his mentorship and commitment to the project.

Mr Lightbourne said his broader priorities include improving waste collection, expanding recycling, beautifying New Providence, and promoting environmental education.