“We Can Have Another Disaster”: Falmouth’s Mayor Says Churches Need Approval Before They Rebuild

• Falmouth’s mayor said churches must get building approval before rebuilding after Melissa
• Applications go to the Trelawny Municipal Corporation for technical review
• He said no institution, churches included, is exempt
• He warned unapproved structures put congregations at risk

As congregations across Trelawny rushed to put roofs back on after Hurricane Melissa, Falmouth’s mayor had a warning: get approval first. The Observer reported in December 2025 that Councillor C Junior Gager wanted churches, businesses, hotels and homeowners alike to file building applications with the Trelawny Municipal Corporation before starting reconstruction.

The point, he said, is safety. The municipality’s technical team needs to examine plans, including the steelwork, before buildings go back up. “If you construct a building that the technical team hasn’t examined, to make sure that your steelwork and everything is right, then we can have another disaster,” he said.

Gager stressed that no institution is exempt, churches included. He pointed to the risk to worshippers who gather in large numbers in buildings that may have been rebuilt without proper approvals. The Observer illustrated the story with Scarlett Hall Church of God, one of the parish’s damaged churches.

Trelawny’s council had already raised concerns before the hurricane about churches building without permits. Melissa made the issue more urgent: congregations eager to rebuild quickly may see the approval process as an obstacle.

But a church is a place of public assembly. A roof that fails in the next storm, or a wall with inadequate reinforcement, can injure far more people than a collapsed house. Approved plans also matter for insurance, for access to loans and grants, and for any future sale or transfer of the property.

For diaspora donors sending money to help rebuild home churches, the mayor’s message is practical advice too. Ask whether the plans have been approved and inspected. Money spent on an unapproved structure can be lost if the building fails or must be taken down, and the congregation is left no safer than before.

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