THA Chief Administrator Dr Ellis Burris has described Scarborough as a “urinal” and a “shanty town”.

He said: “We have a serious problem in Scarborough and we are in the process of dealing with it. The Assembly has agreed to improve Scarborough in a particular way to bring it to a proper town.”

Dr Burris said the Public Health Department has been asked to identify sites in Scarborough where toilets can be erected to ensure the sanitary condition of the town was uplifted. He said the Assembly was also embarking on building and improving streets to ensure there was a smooth flow of traffic between Northside Road and the centre of Scarborough, improving Bay Street and joining it with Gardenside Street.

He said improvement will also be done to the broad walk from Carrington Street to the Milford Road Esplanade as soon as the taxi stand was moved to its new location. He said the fish port will be improved, the barge in the port will be removed and a recreation park constructed in the area.

He said loans will be offered to businesses that may not have enough funds to enhance their structure adding that the shanty town in front of the First Citizens bank will be removed along with other illegal structures throughout Scarborough. “It is our intention to deal with those immediately and we are putting Scarborough on red alert that we will be coming to deal with it,” he added.

Dr Burris said owners of the illegal structures should take steps to put them in order. “We are expecting to change the face of Scarborough in the very near future,” he stressed.