Negril wants entertainment zone

Ryan Morrison, president of the Negril Entertainment Association (NEA), says the failure of successive governments to establish an entertainment zone in Negril is likely to result in the death of entertainment for the popular party capital.

Several of the entertainment venues are located along the world-renowned seven miles beach, but numerous complaints from guests of the hotels in the vicinity resulted in a near shutdown of entertainment events.

"We met with ministers [Olivia] Babsy Grange and Edmund Bartlett after there was another uproar that almost resulted in a shutdown of entertainment in Negril," said the NEA head. "There was an agreement that we should identify lands for our entertainment zone and they would make the necessary recommendation, but since we have done so, we have not heard anything."

"The only possible location for such a facility is owned by government, but the minister is yet to respond to a proposal to utilise 200 acres of state lands on the outskirts of our resort town."

The land identified is owned by the Urban Development Corporation.

"We have to establish a facility to accommodate 30,000 to 40,000 patrons," Morrison said. "We are not talking about dancehall, but entertainment as an industry, so a facility with waterway, restaurant, proper parking, proper rest room facilities. ... the latest available technology, water crafts ... like a theme park."

IDEAL LOCATION

"Frankly, it is the only long-term solution for music and entertainment life in Negril and the lands that we have identified is the ideal location, where everybody will be happy," he continued. "There is no other place that we can go to establish an entertainment zone."

Efforts to contact ministers Grange were unsuccessful and Bartlett.

Earlier this year, Governor-general Sir Patrick Allen, in delivering the Throne Speech to open the new session of Parliament in Gordon House, said that the Government will begin work to build entertainment zones in Fort Charles and Fort Rocky Port Royal, Seville, St Ann, Westmoreland, and St Catherine.

According to the governor-general, the necessary legislative work and amendments to the various laws regulating entertainment will also be done in parallel.

Fort Rocky in Port Royal was declared Jamaica's first entertainment zone last October. At the time, Entertainment Minister Olivia 'Babsy' Grange said that two other entertainment