The MHA for Mount Pearl-Southlands wants to see action taken in dealing with people who continue to camp – or squat – at Cochrane Pond Park.
The City of St. John’s ordered everyone out of the park last year, but people remain at the site.
One man has been charged with a single count of arson, and a series of fires in the park in recent weeks remain under investigation by the RNC.
The park sits on Crown lands and the provincial government has also ordered people with structures at the site to remove them.
(VOCM News)
After visiting the park in recent days, area MHA Paul Lane was shocked by what he witnessed.
“The place is in quite a state,” Lane told Zack Power on the Tim Powers Show. “There’s a lot of abandoned trailers, a lot of the building that were part of the former park…dilapidated buildings are there and there’s no doubt, besides it being really unsightly, no doubt I can see a real opportunity for a disaster.”
Lane says he’s discussed his concerns with the department of Forestry and Lands, with the premier, and with city officials.
He says the park presents a real risk and the site needs to be cleared.
“Whoever is staying there needs to be removed. Those old trailers need to be taken out of there. Those old buildings need to be flattened by a bulldozer, and the area needs to be barred off in my opinion. And until all those things happen, I will still have concerns about the safety, and the impact that it could have on the people of Southlands and Galway and…even Mount Pearl.”
The overwhelming majority of those who responded to yesterday’s VOCM Question of the Day agree, with 85 per cent indicating that the site should be leveled.
(VOCM News)
Province and City of St. John’s Issue Joint Statement
Meanwhile, the province and capital city have issued a joint statement on concerns surrounding Cochrane Pond Park, indicating that due to ongoing operations, investigations and enforcement activities, they are limited in the information they can release at this time.
RNC have increased patrols in the area and are working with the St. John’s Regional Fire Department and Department of Forestry to address any concerns while a “comprehensive response plan” is put in place.
(VOCM News)
Recent events have required what both levels of government say is a coordinated response involving “multiple agencies to protect public safety and support ongoing enforcement and investigative activities.”
More information will be provided as it becomes available and anyone who witnesses criminal activity in the area is urged to call 911.
