The collaborative effort between the City Hall and the National Bank of Industry and Commerce to restore the promenade gardens to its former glory is progressing smoothly.
This is according to the City’s Public Relations Officer, Mr. Royston King during an interview with Kaieteur News, recently.
He said cooperation between the Council and NBIC to re-establish the garden, which started on April 2004, has been progressing according to schedule.
To date the contractors completed renovations to the garden’s gateway on Middle Street. The contractors are in the process of reconstructing the fence which secures the premise of the gardens, Mr. King said.
The Public Relations Officer was quick to note that the rehabilitating of the fence and gate has not affected its historical feature.
He said that the staves which lined the concrete base will have not been refashioned.
Mr. King stated that the Council’s staff who are attached to gardens have benefited from training programmes facilitated by the agreement.
However, he said that the staff have been relocated to the city where they are involved in reshaping and maintaining the greenery around the city.
The Mayor and City Council and NBIC signed a $24M deal April last for the bank to rehabilitate the Promenade Gardens.
The bank had initially approached City Hall with a proposal to improve the lighting of the facility, restore the fountain, and enhance the greenery which includes all plant life within the gardens. Repairs are also expected to be effected to the staffing facilities within the Promenade gardens.
He noted that according to a five-year agreement which was signed between the two, the bank would be responsible for general maintenance of the gardens within the duration of the contract.
Initially, there was some disagreement among the City Councillor about the particulars of the contract which virtually would have handed over the management of the gardens to NBIC.
Some contended that the gardens is a national heritage; thus, the citizens have the prerogative over it.
However Mayor Hamilton Green and Deputy Mayor Robert Williams were in agreement with the contract, opining that the Municipal does not have the resources to restore and maintain the gardens to its former glory.
The History of the promenade garden dates back to the 17th century.