Residents of Spa Hill, St Joseph, say they are living with a road that is crumbling beneath them, and a promise of relocation that has reportedly gone quiet since April.
The community’s troubles came to a head last year when a section of the road gave way early one morning.
“We heard this bang,” said Leonita Joseph, who has lived in the area for about a decade. When she and her neighbours went to the area, they discovered the road had sunk. She was later told the collapse was linked to land slippage and an ongoing landslide threatening the community.
One neighbour’s home was so badly affected that its foundation gave way entirely.
“The house actually fell because of the slippage,” Joseph said. That neighbour has since been relocated in a process that took a long time, Joseph said.
She was warned that her own house sits dangerously close to the slippage.
“I was told that it’s a dangerous situation and then I would have to move,” she said.
She was initially reluctant, questioning why she should have to leave her home, but once officials explained the risk, she agreed.
“So I said, okay, for my family’s safety, I would go” she recalled.
Since that warning in January last year, workers have come and gone without resolving the underlying problem.
Joseph described how, whenever it rains, water pours down the hillside “like a river” and pools in the middle of the road. Attempts to repair the road did not last, she said.
Frustrated by the lack of information, Joseph said she has gone directly to the Planning and Development Department seeking answers.
“We were told, yes, we will move for sure’ – they’re waiting after the Budget,” she said, referring to a conversation that took place in April this year. Nothing has followed.
“We haven’t heard a word concerning the situation at all since then,” Joseph added.
For Rosan, who has lived in Spa Hill her entire life, the greater fear is what happens in an emergency.
“If in case of fire, nobody – ambulance, nobody – can get to us because nothing don’t come down,” she said.
She worries especially about her grandson, whose safety she said depends on being able to reach him quickly when the weather turns.
“It’s really, really terrible,” she said.
The road’s condition has also reshaped residents’ daily routines as cars can no longer be parked near the homes.
“We have to park up top,” Joseph said, describing how loose rocks slide down whenever it rains. Rosan added that without vehicle access, residents are forced to carry groceries and gas bottles up the hill on foot.
The financial toll has been significant as well.
“We have to spend a lot of money repairing our vehicles because of the conditions. We’re always at the mechanic – not even hundreds of dollars but thousands,” Joseph stated.
A letter dated January 22, 2025, from the Ministry of Housing, Lands and Maintenance identified homes in the area as potentially requiring relocation due to land slippage. That letter stated that officers would conduct a socio-economic survey of affected households to help determine a resettlement strategy.
More than a year later, residents say that process is uncertain.
Member of Parliament for St Joseph, Ryan Brathwaite, acknowledged the severity of the situation.
“There are still situations that are simply untenable and require urgent attention,” he told the DAILY NATION, adding that he is aware of what residents in Spa Hill and neighbouring communities continue to endure “amid ongoing slippage”.
Brathwaite said his strategy involves coordinating with different ministries depending on what each affected area needs.
“My approach is to work with my colleagues in Transport and Works in those areas where we can improve and stabilise the road infrastructure, and with my colleagues in Housing in those instances where relocation is necessary,” he stated.
The MP added that where relocation cannot be avoided, he wants to see families resettled within the parish rather than uprooted.
He also pointed to relocation grants as a possible avenue of support.
“There is also precedent for relocation grants being provided to persons in the parish who faced similar circumstances, and I believe that is another option that should be explored,” he stated.
Brathwaite stressed that while some work is already underway, residents like those in Spa Hill need answers sooner rather than later.
“I recognise that work is taking place, but some of these situations have reached the point where more immediate intervention is necessary,” he stated. (DDS)
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