Coopers Pen residents stage protest over fresh eviction notice

The ongoing Coopers Pen saga in Trelawny flared up again today, with residents launching a protest in response to a fresh notice ordering them to vacate the area within 30 days.

The residents blocked sections of the nearby roadway with boards, fridges, and other items as they stood with placards calling for justice.

The protest was triggered by a notice that the residents reportedly received from the Trelawny Municipal Corporation, ordering them to cease and desist from all building activity in the area, pursuant to Section 44 of the Building Act 2018.

Members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force later removed the blockade.

Dennis Meadows, the People’s National Party’s constituency chairman for Trelawny Northern, the constituency where Coopers Pen is located, was on hand to support the residents, calling for collaboration and coexistence between the residents and neighbouring hotel industry stakeholders.

Meanwhile, Collen Gager, Mayor of Falmouth and Chairman of the Trelawny Municipal Corporation, said he was not in office at the time of the protest and that he would therefore need time to respond to today’s events.

The Coopers Pen controversy began on August 11, when 20 houses located on 705 acres of property were demolished, displacing scores of residents in the process.

New Falmouth Resorts Limited is the legal owner of the property, which the residents had been illegally occupying for years.

At the time of the demolition exercise, some of the affected residents said they had hoped to legally acquire the parcels on which they had built their homes if they were given the opportunity to purchase them.

- Christopher Thomas

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