By Carlena Knight
As construction continues on a large warehouse in McKinnons, a family whose dwelling is nearby have pledged to seek legal advice in an attempt to halt construction.
Mario Williams, the son of Goathel and Joycelin Williams who raised the alarm about the controversial structure in February, confirmed the family’s intent when he spoke to Observer on Tuesday.
“Construction is still going on right now. If you go out there any time after 9am, you can see them out there. I’ve gone out a few times and you can see the difference to when they first started. As far as I know, my mother will be going to her legal counsel to handle the situation,” he revealed.
The family had already created an online petition dubbed “Stop the construction of a commercial warehouse in the residential community of McKinnons” on change.org. So far it has garnered more than 2,200 signatures.
Last December, the Williams family, who have resided at the location for 20 years, witnessed the erection of a steel frame on the western side of their property, less than one foot away from their boundary.
They previously chided the potential devaluation of their home, as well as others nearby, claiming having a warehouse in a largely residential community would attract rodents, obscure their view and negatively impact air circulation.
The couple also said the concrete structure had impeded the natural drainage of water, a situation which caused flooding on their property after heavy rain.
It was because of those reasons why the couple reached out to the Chinese workers on the construction site, but they claimed they did not understand English. This then prompted the homeowners to appeal to the Development Control Authority (DCA) for help.
Officials from the DCA, however, informed the family that there was nothing they could do due to the fact that there were no restrictive covenants in the area.
Attempts to reach Mrs Williams for further comment yesterday were unsuccessful.