The Barbados Town Planning Society held its webinar entitled “Complete Communities: Reimagining Settlement, Communities and Housing Solutions” on Friday November 8th, 2024 at 12:00 pm.
2024 Webinar – Complete Communities
Author Archives: Andy Gill
The BTPS Shares the Loss of a Former Chief Town Planner
It is with sadness that we share the passing of Luther Bourne, former Chief Town Planner and close colleague of many.
Funeral Service
The Funeral Service for Luther is due to be held on August 8th, 2024. Please see below newspaper advertisement.
BTPS Saddened by the passing of Luther Bourne, Honorary Member
The Barbados Town Planning Society regrets to announce the Passing of one of its Professional Members, Luther Bourne, on July 15, 2024 at the age of 88.
Luther joined the Town & Country Development Planning Office (TCPO) in 1964 as a Planning Student with prior University Degrees in Economics and World affairs. He had been employed in the diplomatic section of the West Indies Federation when it became defunct and was keen to obtain another post in the Public Sector. At that time, the Government of Barbados had an opening for a Pupil Assistant to be trained in the UK and he was successful in securing that position, to the great ultimate benefit of the Planning Profession. He spent a year in the TCPO under the guidance Mr. Peter H. M. Stevens, the first Town & Country Planning Officer. During that year, he assisted in the research and documentation for the first Physical Development Plan of Barbados, the draft of which had been completed in 1966 by a professional team under the U.N. Development Programme.
The following year, Luther travelled with his family to the UK for a two-year Postgraduate degree in Town Planning and his local experience would have been important because he could relate his studies to the Barbados context. It was during this time that he and Richard Gill became friends, as the latter was then in the third year of a four-year Honours Degree course.
When Luther and Richard returned to Barbados in 1967, they were both appointed to professional posts under the then head of Department, Mr. Peter Shepherd. Over the next couple of years, the posts were rationalized and the more familiar term “Chief Town Planner” was formalized. Following the departure of Mr. Shepherd, Luther was appointed as the first Barbadian Chief Town Planner in 1970 and held that post for about 14 years, during which he was well positioned to influence public policy and planning practice. He was then promoted to Acting Permanent Secretary and subsequently to Cabinet Secretary.
He supported the entry of Barbadian Planners into the profession and encouraged and monitored several young Planners who worked under him, for which they are most grateful. He was particularly instrumental in effecting a change in the training of young planners, who previously would have gone to the UK for training to the first degree level, by encouraging a grounding in the local and wider Caribbean environment first, before proceeding to the UK for post-graduate studies. It is to be regretted that Luther was never awarded a national honour for his outstanding service.
On retirement from Government service, Luther started a modest private practice in association with an Engineer and served as a UN Consultant on Planning from 1992 to 1996. During this period of his life, he also assisted overseas Consultants in the preparation of two versions of the amended Physical Development Plan for the Island. He also teamed up with local firms Athelston King Architects and Errol Clarke Engineers as the planning consultant in the preparation of The Greater Orange Hill Area Comprehensive Development Plan (Deanstown) of 1998. This was one of the plans identified for preparation in the Physical Development Plan Amended 1988
Luther’s contribution to the Planning Profession has been immense over the years. As a Professional Member of the BTPS, he has served as President for several years during which he also served as the Regional Representative of the Commonwealth Association of Planning (CAP) for the Americas Region – essentially for Canada and the Caribbean. He also proved, in his role as President of BTPS, that Public and Private Sector Planners could work together in a professional organization to their mutual benefit and hold the highest office without conflict of interest, thus helping to grow the profession.
Luther has also taken part in many of the Society’s public events including local seminars and local and regional conferences, chairing several sessions. In such events he ably balanced his professional integrity and responsibilities with his high level public advisory function by always giving a willing ear to the “other view” without compromising himself through committal.
This Society was pleased to honour Luther in recent years as one of its first three Honorary Members, a title which was richly deserved.
Others will no doubt have much to say about Luther’s artistic abilities including fluency with his classical guitar, his creative dance ability and his acting roles. Our own Members will always remember him as a person of the highest integrity, as someone very special with his love of people, his Joy of Life and his ability to offer thoughtful advice on all professional matters.
Our condolences go out to his dear wife Pamela (“Pam”) and their family and we embrace with thanks the life of one who gave much and thoroughly enjoyed the journey of a long life.
May he Rest in Peace.
The President and Membership of the Barbados Town Planning Society. Dated: 30th July 2024
Luther’s Obituary
Also, please see Luther’s Obituary below, taken from https://obits.palmbeachnationalchapel.com/obituary/luther-bourne
Luther Bourne, born on July 22, 1935, passed away peacefully on July 15, 2024, at JFK Medical Center in Palm Beach, Florida. He was 88 years old.
Luther was a beloved husband, father and grandfather, leaving behind a legacy of love and cherished memories. Luther is survived by his devoted wife, Pamela whom he met in St. Kitts where he taught French before briefly joining the diplomatic corps of the West Indies Federation. They shared 65 wonderful years of marriage.
He was a loving father to his three children: Gillian and her husband Paul; Nicholas and his wife Ruth; and his eldest daughter Colette. He was also a proud grandfather to Marc, Cindy, Nia, Ryan, Zachary, Alexander, Nikayla, and Zoie.
Luther leaves behind his sister-in-law Pearl and her husband Colin, brother-in-law Tom and his wife Yvonne, cousins Joyce Callender-Bryan, Audrey Hunte-Cox, Peggy Hunte-Smith and numerous relatives from the Belgrave, Benjamin, Bourne, Briggs, Hunte and Oxley families. He was preceded in death by his parents, Millicent (Bourne) Carew and Samuel Benjamin, his sister, Arnette, and his cousins Sir Conrad Hunte, Juanita Hinkson, Carlisle Hunte, and Hugh Hunte.
He lived a full and vibrant life, touching the hearts of all who knew him. He will be deeply missed by his close friends Judy Stober, Elsie Kirton, Rudolph Holder, and Cedric Burke, as well as countless friends in Barbados and around the world.
Luther dedicated most of his professional career to the Barbados Government, serving with distinction as the first Barbadian Chief Town Planner. He held this role for 14 years, during which he developed the organization and oversaw significant growth and transformation across the island. In 1984, Luther became an Acting Permanent Secretary, and in 1990, he was appointed Cabinet Secretary. From 1992 to 1996, he served as a United Nations consultant on planning.
In addition to his professional achievements, Luther was a passionate lover of the arts. He found joy in music, creative dance, acting, painting, and playing the classical guitar. His artistic talents brought enjoyment and inspiration to all who knew him.
A funeral service to celebrate Luther’s life will be held at St. Mary’s Anglican Church in Bridgetown, Barbados, on August 8, 2024, at 2 PM, followed by the inurnment in the churchyard. You may also join the family via livestream at www.clydebjonesfuneralhome.com to share in his service. Floral tributes may be sent to Clyde B. Jones Funeral Home, Top Rock, Christ Church, Barbados, no later than 11:30 AM on Thursday, August 8.
Luther Bourne’s life was a testament to dedication, creativity, and love. His legacy will live on in the hearts of those who knew and loved him.
Rest in peace. You will always be remembered and loved.
2024 Webinar: Investing in Bridgetown – July 26th, 2024
The Barbados Town Planning Society invites you to a webinar entitled “Investing in Bridgetown” on Friday July 26th, 2024 at 12:00 pm.
2023 Webinar: Planning Today! Major Changes and the New Planning System
On World Town Planning Day, the Barbados Town Planning Society, in conjunction with the Planning & Development Department, held our Free Webinar on 8th November, 2023 from 12 noon to 2 p.m. on Zoom.
2023 Webinar: De-carbonising Barbados: Making Barbados’ Housing Greener
The Barbados Town Planning Society presented a webinar entitled “De-carobonising Barbados: Making Barbados’ Housing Greener” on Friday June 23, 2023 at 12:00 pm and fellow professionals were invited to attend this event.
Excellent presentations were made by:
- Neil Hutchinson of Studio Blue Architects Inc. (see 2023 Introduction to Green Housing Concepts – Neil Hutchinson)
- Asli Timur and Gavin Cumberbatch of Argo Development Studio
For further details please feel free to contact us!
2022 Symposium:- De-Carbonising Barbados: Impacts for Physical Planning, Green Transport and Mobility
World Town Planning Day is our major outreach event of the year. It will also be the first BTPS in-person event since before lockdown and will be held at the Courtyard by Marriott on Tuesday 8th November 2022, starting at 9.00 am. This will be a “FREE, BY INVITATION ONLY” event and all BTPS Members are invited.
The theme of the Symposium is “De-carbonising Barbados: Impacts for Physical Planning, Green Transport and Mobility”. We have arranged a number of interesting speakers and the Opening Address will be delivered by Senior Minister Dr the Hon William F Duguid JP MP. A copy of the programme is attached. BTPS Agenda WTPD 2022
Space is limited and we want to accommodate as many stakeholders as possible. It would therefore be a great help if all BTPS Members who want to attend could register as quickly as possible and by Friday 28th October at the latest to ensure that you get a place. Please use the Google forms link below to register. This will help us to see how many places we have available for guests.
Presentations have been uploaded here:
Caribbean Urban Forum 2022 Concludes Successfully
The 2022 Caribbean Urban Forum (CUF) Conference in Barbados was held from 15th-17th June, 2022 as a hybrid of physical and online meetings. This year’s theme was Beyond COVID: Recovery – Renewable – Resilience.
Final CUF 22 AGENDA -17June2022_updated
We have created a YouTube Channel with some of the meetings and presentations from the conference:
Enjoy!
From CUF2022: Toppin-Allahar’s Opening Statement (Panel 4) – The Changing Nature of Planning Practice in the Public Service
Panel 4 –The Changing Nature of Planning Practice in the Public Service
Planning practice in the public service is of course underpinned and guided by the legal and institutional framework for the regulation of the development of land.
Planning law in Barbados has recently been transformed by the repeal and replacement of the Town and Country Planning Act, enacted in the 1960s, by the Planning and Development Act 2019. The new Act makes radical changes to the administrative system for physical planning and development control as well as modernizing the philosophical approach to planning.
To begin with, mention should be made of the open process by which the new legislation was arrived at and adopted. This began with a PUBLIC CONSULTATION PROCESS kicked off by the PM on 16th July 2018 – within weeks of the change in government. The initial discussions (which were carried live on the GIS website and followed by a national and international audience) were followed by a GREEN PAPER which was published for further public comment. The Bill was laid in the house in December 2018, within 6 months of the original discussions, and enacted in January 2019. When it was subsequently decided to amend the Act to transform the TCPDO into a ONE-STOP-SHOP for planning and building approval, a further round of STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATIONS was held in 2019 and the necessary amendments were passed in March 2020. Hence, it can be said that there has been general buy-in by stakeholders – including relevant professionals and developers. It should be noted that the BTPS led all the public consultation exercises involved in the development of the new legislation.
The purposes of the Act speak to –
- the facilitation of land development
- the attainment of appropriate standards
- efficiency and accountability on the part of regulatory authorities
- public participation in decision-making and
- effective access to redress and remedies for persons aggrieved.
The new administrative system it is firmly based on principles of transparency, collegial decision-making and public participation, all of which are designed to raise the veil on decision-making that characterized the old system and eliminate the opportunities for bias and corruption in development control. The element of collegial decision-making is shared by the OECS COUNTRIES, but the measures for ensuring transparency and public participation are new.
To give Barbados credit where it is due, this is the only country in the region which has substantially complied with its statutory obligations vis-à-vis land use planning under the old legislation. However that process was very outdated and not reflective of modern planning practice. Hence, the system of development planning has been modernized and made more participatory and the legal status of the development plan enhanced. Express provision has been made for the adoption of supplementary planning policies. This is intended to eliminate reliance on “desk-drawer policies” which are the bêtes noir of planning practice in the Caribbean.
As regards development control, with the exception of applications referred to the Minister, all major decisions will be made by a multi-disciplinary public-private sector Board. Only applications of national strategic importance will be referred to the Minister. All applications will be processed by the professional staff of the Planning and Development Department, who will also decide minor applications. Strict deadlines for the processing of applications have been set. The system is premised on the principle of facilitation of land development (getting past “No”/getting to “Yes”). The Act expressly states that decisions must be guided by a presumption in favour of granting planning permission – in cases where applications can be approved if modified, a entirely new form of decision “provisional refusal” will issue, which only becomes refusal if the plans are not modified.
The Department will function as a “One Stop Shop” for building as well as planning control, but most building plans reaching the Department will have been certified by registered professionals who will assume general responsibility to ensuring conformity to building codes and standards. This element of the legislation builds on an aspect of the new legislation (PADL) adopted in TRINIDAD & TOBAGO a few years ago (2014), but not yet fully proclaimed.
Provisions for the protection of the natural and built environment have been greatly strengthened. This aspect could be of great significance as the situation with environmental law in Barbados is in need of comprehensive review and improvement. Environmental management is the subject of various pieces of unrelated legislation administered by several different agencies. We have not yet achieve the union of institutional responsibility for physical planning and environmental management that was achieved by JAMAICA some two decades ago and has just been effected in SURINAME, which is about to embark on the development of a new Spatial Planning Law.
A new and transparent system for the hearing of appeals against the merits of administrative decisions by an APPEALS TRIBUNAL has also been introduced. The system has been depoliticized, regularized and opened up to public scrutiny. The right of recourse to the courts of law to challenge the legality of regulatory decisions is unaffected.
The potential benefits of the new legislation have not been fully realized to date because the required institutional strengthening of the Planning and Development Department has not been given the same urgency as was given to the enactment of the legislation. Setting aside the requirements for the start up of the “One Stop Shop” for the time being (as that part of the Act has not been proclaimed) there are other capacities that must be built up as soon as possible – for example: establishment of an Environmental Service Unit in the Department, which is critical to the new EIA process provided for in the Act and EIA Regulations. The efficiency of the system for decision-making provided for in the new Act depends as much on having adequate and appropriate staff in the Department as on a radical change in the institutional culture of the Department.
CTA 16/06/2022
Caribbean Urban Forum – Call to Papers Submission Extension is March 28th, 2022
We have extended the deadline for the Call for Papers for Caribbean Urban Forum 2022. The new deadline for submission is March 28th, 2022. Abstracts submitted by this date will receive feedback by April 12th, 2022.
Barbados will be hosting the 2022 Caribbean Urban Forum (CUF) Conference and it will be held from 15th-17th June, 2022 as a hybrid of physical and online meetings. This year’s theme is Beyond COVID: Recovery – Renewable – Resilience.
We will provide updates on our various platforms regarding bookings and participation. View and follow our Facebook page here: BTPS Facebook Page
Also, the Call for Papers for Caribbean Urban Forum 2022 is out. Click here to download latest: CUF 2022 – Call for Papers Final – Booklet Updated 2022-03-08
Caribbean Urban Forum is the premium Conference on urban and land planning in the Caribbean held annually since 2011. It brings together planners, academics, urban and land managers, high level decision makers and other allied professionals for knowledge dissemination, capacity building and policy dialogue.
Former Chief Town Planner Lionel Nurse publishes book on physical planning entitled “Fifty Years of Physical Planning in Barbados: 1968-2018”
This book covers most of the major aspects of physical planning in Barbados and includes examples of court decisions which the author has subjected to rigorous analysis, highlighting inconsistencies and areas of concern. He deals with the issue of Environmental Impact Assessments, the Planning Act, the evolution of the planning system in Barbados and development plans for the island, development control, planning regulations, conservation, land acquisition, public participation, and the role of the law courts in making planning decisions.
Available locally at the UWI bookstore and the Cloister bookstore.
ALSO AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.COM WEBSITE: CLICK HERE