by ANMARIE BAILEY-BLAKE

A BARBADOS BUILDING CODE ACT needs to be enacted and enforced immediately.

That was the call of scores of Barbadians last week at a seminar for local businesses and the construction industry.

At the seminar, Building Standards: A Better Future For Barbados, and on the heels of the Brittons X Road tragedy where a family of five died when a portion of an apartment collapsed, those affiliated with the construction industry as well as local business people agreed that the act, which has been in the draft stage since 1992, should become law.

"With the increasing level of construction and the prevalence of natural and other disasters, clearly there needs to be a code and a Government body to oversee it," executive director of the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry Magnus Whitehead said.

Whitehead, however, noted a concern of adopting the code was that it could add costs and lengthen the building process.

President Dick Stoute echoed Whitehead's statements.

"We all have the same objectives. We want a code and we want an efficient way to enforce it."

Underscoring the importance of construction to the Barbadian economy, Stoute said it was important for the reputation of Barbados to be known for its high standards, therefore, it was "essential that buildings meet acceptable levels of safety".

He also alluded to the fact that although Barbadian buildings were assumed to be structurally sound, to date that assumption had not been tested.

"Our buildings have not been challenged by a hurricane for a long time, and it's anyone's guess what will happen should we have to face that," Stoute added.

Although calling for the law, he cautioned Government to make certain considerations prior to legislation.

"We are already a high cost society. We must ensure that whatever is done to enforce the building standards does not disrupt the building process and does not increase costs beyond an absolute minimum."