OYSTER POND--Persons living in Oyster Pond claim that a resident is constructing a dock on the north side of the pond without permission. They want the work to be stopped by Public Works, once the necessary paperwork is not in order.

A marine company is currently driving in piles to construct the dock. Residents in the area said they warned the individual who is said to own three homes and already has another dock built that he could not start constructing another dock without permission.

"We know he does not have authorisation to do it. The plan is for 16 piles to be driven in but you can't just decide to do that in Dutch side waters without permission. It takes months to get permission, and it appears he is trying to get it done quickly without going through the proper process. It's not normal," insisted one resident who lives close by.

"And it's not right when other law-abiding citizens are following the rules, according to the water rights, and paying to get permission, and one individual is blatantly ignoring the rules. We are afraid if one person gets away with it, other people will follow him and there will be no control whatsoever. Not only that, mangroves get cut down and you have that additional damage to the environment," the resident said.

The resident added he had twice urged Sector Director of ROB, Joseph Dollison, to investigate the matter about the dock but there had been no response from him. Mr. Dollison could not be reached yesterday to ascertain whether the dock construction was authorised or not.