Broadgate sues over Govt’s no to building

Refusal by the Town and Country Planning Division to grant approval for the controversial Broadgate Place project is now being challenged at the High Court. Lawyers for Broadgate Place Property Company Ltd, a subsidiary of the Transcorp Development Company, filed for judicial review of the decision to refuse permission to build Broadgate Place. The lawsuit was filed some weeks ago and names the Ministry of Planning, Economic and Social Restructuring and Gender Affairs as the defendant.

Senator Mary King is the minister who heads that ministry. Broadgate is seeking to judicially review the decision on August 3, this year, to refuse planning approval. The Town and Country Planning Division falls under the jurisdiction of King’s ministry. The controversial Broadgate Place is a $1 billion project for the construction of a 26-storey building opposite City Gate transport hub. The building is expected to encompass areas of Henry Street, Broadway and South Quay, Port-of-Spain.

On July 13, Attorney General Anand Ramlogan announced that British Queen’s Counsel Alan Newman would be retained to investigate and determine if there was any wrongdoing in the project. Yesterday, the application for judicial review came up in a case management hearing before Justice Maureen Rajnauth-Lee in the Hall of Justice, Port-of-Spain. The state was represented by attorneys Russell Martineau, SC, and Kelvin Ramkissoon, while Ronald Simon appeared for Broadgate. The matter was adjourned to February 23. The Broadgate Place project was signed under the People’s National Movement and was expected to start in early 2010.