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Craft Alive vendors getting 6-month rent moratorium as village readies to reopen

Government is granting the 59 vendors at Craft Alive in Road Town a six-month moratorium on rent payments as the village now readies to reopen after months of closure caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

City Manager Janice Brathwaite-Edwards said the moratorium will be with the condition “that they pay their outstanding arrears”.

Several of the vendors have been behind on their rent for some time.

Month-end reopening

In the meantime, Brathwaite-Edwards said some of these Craft Alive vendors will be allowed to resume operations at the end of this month, pending approval from the Environmental Health Division. 

“All we are doing is letting them reopen [because] there are some people in Craft Alive that do business with the local population. So it is an opportunity now for them to be inspected and be up to the mark as it relates to social distancing and the environmental health standards,” she explained.

With the pending reopening, the City Manager issued a public appeal for residents to patronize the businesses in that area.

She made that appeal while describing the Craft Alive village as having “a big impact on the city of Road Town”. 

“We are not only looking at the tourist situation because as we move forward with Craft Alive, we want to ensure that we have a very powerful impact on the local population, not just the tourists,” Brathwaite-Edwards stated.

“We don’t want it to be a situation where they only rely on tourists for business,” she added.

The City Manager further informed BVI News that residents should expect more social and cultural activities at Craft Alive.

She said the vendors are excited to return notwithstanding them not reopening all at once.

The territory’s borders are still closed to visitors.

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14 Comments

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  1. please says:

    These vendors haven’t paid a dime for years now…. and now they get a break?

    What a nonsense.

    Like 25
    Dislike 1
  2. Ridiculous says:

    These vendors already behave like they on a moratorium. After this 6 months moratorium, they will still refuse to pay. Just ridiculous.

    Like 10
  3. Why says:

    Why are they getting 6 months and those at the pier park got much less than half of that and they already take their own moratorium?

  4. Zoom says:

    You cannot make this s**t up! Based on previous news some of the tenants out there are behind months, if not years. So let’s say you have a tenant who hasn’t paid in 18 months, do you think they will pay up the 18 months to get 6 months rent free? How about for persons in arrears you simply apply the 6 months and give them another month to pay the balance or they get notice to leave the premises. What is being proposed here is just total folly and anybody owing will not fork up a lump sum to get 6 months off. Who comes up with this nonsense? When the banks to moratoriums, clients that are 30-90 days in arrears get the moratorium, minus the arrears so if someone is 60 days behind and the bank granted 3 month moratoriums, that person effectively gets a 1 month moratorium and starts paying after that.

    Like 14
  5. Tola says:

    And them clothes still expensive for locals

    Like 3
    Dislike 1
    • SMH says:

      Don’t shop there then! Do you complain about other Stores and Locally owned Boutiques whose prices are outrageous! What you need to complain about your mouth shut! Can’t progress with the oppression of your own People.

  6. What!!! says:

    A lot of them don’t pay at all anyway and no one has the ba**s to kick them out and give their place to someone who wants it and will pay the monthly rent.

    Like 11
  7. hahahaha says:

    But they have a lifetime moratorium. they don’t pay in good time and they not going pay in tough times. Ayo done spoil them

    Like 12
  8. Craft Alive says:

    Who God Bless no man curse. Please don’t make those statement to all vendors . There are some who are up to the time in paying there rent.The moratorium only applies to the up to date ones.

  9. PHASE 2 PLEASE says:

    Time to open borders! other VI wide open and enjoying outside $$$$, people been cooped up and they ready to spend!

  10. Anonymous says:

    Please issue tourist visa now

  11. Christy says:

    Please issue visa nowl

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