Last week The Anguillian published part one of an interview with Conrad F. Rogers, a native Architect serving in Atlanta, Georgia. In that article he spoke partly about his future investment plans in his homeland. In this second and final installment, he offers his views about planning and the proposed Valley Town Centre.

View of Terminal Building at Wallblake Airport

Mr. Rogers, who is the son of well known John (Bob) Rogers of Stoney Ground, said there was room for more development projects in Anguilla, but he had some concerns about the level of physical planning on the island.

“I think as Anguilla progresses the need for comprehensive planning is becoming more and more important,” he stated. “Anguilla is only 35 square-miles but that is not a whole lot of land to develop, and we have to do that comprehensively as there will be need for land in the future.”

One of the things he has on his mind is the proposed Valley Town Centre about which he has some ideas of his own but without treading on anyone’s toes.

Mr. Conrad F. Rogers

“I think Anguilla missed an opportunity to create a modern town centre when it made the decision to invest in the Wallblake Airport expansion to jet-landing capacity,” he observed. “Traditionally, towns are developed around ports of entry. So in Anguilla, right now, you have two opportunities. You have Blowing Point as a port of entry and you have Wallblake Airport as a port of entry. I know there is some talk about creating another port of entry at Corito which would then present a third opportunity to create a town centre.

“I think some consideration should still be given to creating a town with Wallblake Airport as a point of entry and securing whatever lands are needed…I know Government has already swapped out a whole bunch of it and this is what I alluded to earlier when I said an opportunity was missed when the decision was taken to expand the airport.”

Mr. Rogers was of the view that the airport, with all of its vehicular and pedestrian access, “and all the lands to the north, where most of the Government’s accommodations are, could have been set up as a town centre.” He again felt that “the opportunity has been missed there,” but suggested that there was probably an opportunity at Blowing Point.

He argued that historically The Valley was regarded as the town centre in Anguilla because Crocus Bay, which is nestled to the foot of the area, was once a port of entry. “It is no longer a port of entry,” he continued. “We had the hospital and the court house up there and they too are no longer there. So it is a struggle to create The Valley as a town centre without trying to link it to, in this case, its closest port of entry, which is Wallblake Airport.

“You can develop business centres and I think the ingredients are there. You have the four commercial banks; major communication facilities, prominent schools and churches and the hospital not to far away. To develop a town centre will have to be more along the lines of something that is non-traditional in order to pull it off. Towns are generally more pedestrian-oriented than vehicular-oriented. If you study town design, you must have a reason to be there with all the support services. That’s why you need the shops, the banks and the restaurants but it is not because you have these facilities that you need a town. It is the other way around. The port of entry drives the need for these things but we have disconnected The Valley area from its original port of entry which was Crocus Bay. Consequently, the area will struggle to be a town.

“A lot of the parts are in place. The financial institutions are there but to me they are not oriented and linked in a harmonious manner. They occupy the four corners of a quad. Those are important elements but what is missing is what connects them, what causes traffic to go from point A to point B. That is what makes a town viable: the natural movement from one point to another with some level of ease. Right now, we don’t have it; we have basically two major streets and no connectivity. You can get from the Airport and from Blowing Point to the hotel belt without going through The Valley. The Valley is not connected to a port of entry and until that link is made somehow, it is going to be a struggle.”

The general understanding is that Government intends to beautify and upgrade The Valley area in terms of bitumen road-ways, wider streets where possible, side walks, better street lighting and with floral and ornamental plants. The aim is to make The Valley more presentable as a place in the middle of the island where visitors in particular can spend more time rather than just passing through on beach trips or simply returning to the hotels with their beautiful gardens and relaxing atmosphere.

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