By KNEWS

Copyright kaieteurnewsonline

Subryanville residents heading to court to stop construction of prefab building for Mae’s school

Sep 24, 2025
News

Kaieteur News – Residents of Subryanville are set to take legal action to prevent the construction of a prefab building for the Mae’s School, being developed on the Eastern end of Farnum Playfield.

Since losing its main campus in Subryanville to fire last March, the school has since been occupying sections of the playfield to house its operations and even moved to erect a prefab structure on the playfield.

The committee for the residents of Subryanville has been calling for a cease-and-desist order to be issued to stop the ongoing construction.

Elisabeth Deane-Hughes, a resident of Subryanville and member of the group explained that residents have been engaging the Mayor and City Council on the matter but their cease-and-desist order, is yet to be approved.

“Mae’s is not a for profit organisation and the residents of Subryanville are adamant that the place should not be used for any type of temporary construction. We are yet to see where they [Mae’s] got permission to erect a prefab building on the playfield, she said, adding that the neighbourhood should not even be a space where commercial properties exist.

“… so, the construction goes against so many regulations,” Deane-Hughes explained that the committee for the residents of Subryanville will soon approach the court for cease-and-desist order should the M&CC fail to stop the construction.

“This is a residential space that should be preserved as such. This is a private school that can afford to find suitable alternative accommodation for its attendees…We have sought the intervention of the council and if they fail to address this matter then we will be moving to court.”

In an invited comment, City Mayor Alfred Mentore explained that the council is seeking to have residents and school come to agreement for the school to use the playfield temporarily until their school is rebuilt. He noted that while the council has not granted permission for the prefab building to be placed on the field, the council has not objected to it.

“We haven’t objected in principle as the 2000 kids that attend the school trumps any call for stalling the construction as matter is being dealt with by the CH&PA. The CH&PA will handle approvals and permits and then it will be presented to the council.” Mentore explained.

In a subsequent statement released on Tuesday, the community group noted their position on the matter has not shifted.

The group noted that on Monday, representatives of their committee attended the statutory meeting of the Georgetown Mayor and City Council held at the Kitty Market.

According to the statement, while the M&CC allowed the residents to orally request again another cease-and-desist/stop order for the current ongoing construction of the prefab structures, the matter was deferred to a later date.

The residents have since noted their frustration as there was no permission from M&CC for the construction of prefab buildings.

Additionally, they have noted that despite the urgency of this matter, M&CC deferred the decision to the statutory meeting three weeks hence on 13th October 2025.

Further, the community group has contended that to date, the M&CC has not provided any of the relevant documents requested by residents.

In their statement, the group said “These include the minutes of the M&CC statutory meetings held on 24 March 2025, 8 September, 2025 and 15 September, 2025. The residents have also requested the minutes of city works committee on 10 September 2025 and documents which M&CC are using to establish the ownership of Farnum’s Playing Field.”

The group also requested any property transport from Mr. David Sugrim (who is acting for Mae’s Schools) for any property in Subryanville and/or irrevocable authorisation.

According to the group these include any documents which connect Mr. Sugrim to Mae’s Schools legally registered. These include the transport for 9 Third Avenue, Subryanville and/or irrevocable authorisation in Mr. Sugrim’s name, the transport for 19 Third Avenue, Subryanville and/or irrevocable authorisation in Mr. Sugrim’s name and the transport for 29 Third Avenue, Subryanville and/or irrevocable authorisation in Mr. Sugrim’s name, any company registration documents for Mae’s Schools with Mr. Sugrim’s name and any business registration documents for Mae’s Schools with Mr. Sugrim’s name as well as any documents which connect Mr. Sugrim to Mae’s Schools legally registered.

The residents are also seeking any permits and application for the prefabricated ongoing construction of the building on the playfield that they have since requested a cease-and-desist order.

In the interim, residents have engaged with Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA) to have the covenants on their transports enforced for all applications in at CHPA.

As the residents await the outcome of their reiterated demand to stop the construction, they noted the importance of the playfield to Georgetown’s transformation.

“Farnum’s Playfield has a history dating back to the 1940s when it was donated by the Farnum Family and declared community property by the Chairman of Kitty and Alexanderville Country Authority for use by the communities of Subryanville and Kitty. Residents have been contributing to the maintenance of the Farnum Playground,” the release added.

Moreover, the residents of Subryanville are of the view that considering the plans for Georgetown’s transformation, the open green recreational community space can be used as a model in the baseline study.

Farnum Playfield, legal action, Mae’s School, prefab building, Subryanville