Plans Advance for Tindale Park With Business Hubs and Community Centre

Plans for a multi-purpose development at Tindale Park are advancing, with land acquisition nearing completion, ABLP candidate and Education Minister Daryll Matthew said during an interview on ABS Television’s “Know Your Candidates” programme.

Matthew said the project hinges on securing approximately an acre and a half of land through an exchange arrangement with a private family, noting that discussions are at an advanced stage.

“There’s a parcel of land at the top of Tindale Road… we are at an advanced stage, and I believe we’re at the end stage of negotiating with the family… so that the government could acquire that,” he said.

He outlined a plan to transform the site into a community hub featuring a two-storey building, small business spaces and recreational facilities.

“The upper floor of the building will be a community centre… you can have community meetings, after-school programmes… the community can have access to it,” Matthew said. “The lower portion of it will be a remodelled bandhouse for the Pandemonium Steel Orchestra.”

The development will also include a dedicated area for micro-enterprises, with space for roughly a dozen small operators.

“You’ll see a series of small buildings… we are setting up there a small business hub… there are spaces for approximately 10 or 12 of these small business hubs,” he said, suggesting uses such as barber shops, bakeries and other small trades.

Matthew said the aim is to create opportunities for residents to earn income within the community, adding that “the government can’t be the only employer in the country.”

The site will also feature a fenced playground and park, which he said has already been sourced through donations.

Funding for the wider project is expected to come from a mix of private support and community effort rather than direct government financing.

“I’ve been speaking to private donors already… I’m not asking anybody for money… I need some steel… we will do fundraisers… I can get labour from the community,” he said.

Matthew said the proposal is part of a broader effort to improve quality of life in the densely populated constituency, where limited government-owned land has constrained development.

He described the project as a firm commitment if re-elected, adding, “If it wasn’t realistic, I wouldn’t put it in here and promise it.”

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