Chinese restaurant defies Housing Authority’s order to close

Mar 31, 2019 News

The reopened restaurant

Two months after closing, a Chinese restaurant on the Diamond access road, East Bank Demerara has reopened and angry neighbours are raising questions.
In January, the owners of ‘Georgie’ were issued a contravention order. This was after they were refused a building permit a year ago. The order had given them four weeks to shut up shop.
They closed after it became clear that there was no way out.
The restaurant was in a zoned area and the owners had no authorization.
The operations, along the Diamond Access Road, have been angering residents of the nearby upscale residential area who said they are affected by the smell of oil, and the fact that the zoning regulations do not allow it.
The Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) had said it had refused the application and there was not likely to be a permit issued.
In January 2018, Georgie’s application for a building permit was turned down by the CH&PA’s Board of Directors.
Under the regulations, CH&PA has to approve plans before the necessary licences from the Guyana Revenue Authority are issued.
Last week, neighbours of the upscale section said they saw the Chinese cleaning up and then suddenly, the business was open again.
“I really don’t understand how you were refused a permit because you are in a no zone area and then you are forced to close because one can’t be issued, to now opening back? Which law was passed by CH&PA that allow this area, a residential one to have a restaurant? Somebody has to answer,” one of the neighbours told Kaieteur News.
This newspaper was shown several documents of how CH&PA had refused the Chinese owners of the property a permit.
An official of the local Neighbourhood Democratic Council of the Grove/Diamond area said last week that they are not aware of the reopening.
“This is the only country in the world where we as Guyanese are so disrespected. There is no way in the world where we can go and have no permits and still refuse to comply and nobody doing anything. We have become second class citizens in our own country,” said one of the neighbours’ wives.
The situation of ‘Georgie’ has raised several questions about the country’s capacity to enforce, as well as the growing problem over zoning, or the lack thereof.
In the case of the Chinese restaurant, which appeared to have flagrantly violated the regulations by defiantly continuing its operations with permission, the owner, Jingxin Dai, received a Letter of Refusal dated January 29, 2018, from CH&PA.
It informed the Chinese owner of Lot 1113 Section ‘A’ Block ‘X’, Great Diamond, that his application for the establishment of a Food Restaurant and Malt and Wine Inclusive for the same address, had not been approved.
The application was refused by CH&PA’s board on January 19, 2018, the letter disclosed.
However, the restaurant continued its operations, without any permits.
It was in August last year, seven months after that the Golden Grove/Diamond Neighbourhood Democratic Council wrote Jingxin Dai indicating that the application was refused.
The restaurant was ordered to cease operations within three days of receiving the notice.
How the NDC did not see that the Chinese restaurant was continuing its operations on a busy public road where hundreds of vehicles traverse daily was what is puzzling angry neighbours.
According to CH&PA officials yesterday, the Contravention Notice will give the restaurant 28 days.
Neighbours said that CH&PA officials told them last week that there is little that they could do now except to proceed with legal actions.

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