While the architects and historians will doubtless be deeply interested in the restoration of Devon House to as close to its original Georgian glory as possible, for the majority of those who visit the major accessible green space in the Corporate Area, it is the grounds and the entertainment facilities that really matter.

So we are happy tha Tropical Foliage was the last of the four firms mentioned in yesterday's Gleaner story about 'New contracts approved for Devon House restoration', a company has been identified as being responsible for the grounds.

A total of $8 million will be spent on the grounds, $3 million going to gardening and the remainder to lighting and landscape.

We hope that somewhere in the budget provision has been made (and, of course, a specific company identified) to repair the fencing on Waterloo Road, close to the intersection with Hope Road. It has served as a means of access for the windscreen wipers at that intersection, with a tendency for their intermittent disputes to sometimes spill over onto the Devon House grounds.

The importance of maximising the appearance of, and benefits from, the capital's green areas cannot be overemphasised. This is especially so as Hope Gardens, the largest and lushest of them all, is that one extra bus ride away for those who use the public transportation system. In addition, it does not have the facilities which Devon House offers (and for most people, that would probably translate to IScream).

We are pleased that the Emancipation Park in New Kingston has been kept in such excellent condition, this due no doubt to strict management. However, the St William Grant Park in downtown Kingston remains an eyesore, as well as, at points, offensive to the nostrils.

However, more green spaces for a burgeoning urban population are needed, especially as the process of 'apartmentisation', if we dare coin a phrase for the ongoing process of replacing single dwellings with apartment buildings, continues. At the risk of incurring the wrath of those in whom power is, however temporarily, invested, our eyes naturally turn to those two other huge properties on Hope Road, Jamaica House and King's House.

Certainly, not all the space provided for these two physical manifestations of political power in the country are utilised to their maximum potential, and we remember that during former Governor General Sir Howard Cooke's tenure an extensive kitchen garden was established.

It may sound presumptuous and even preposterous at this point to suggest that some land be culled from one or both of these properties to provide areas of relaxation and escape from the constricting concrete that Kingstonians live with every day. However, not only will the city's population continue rise via the birthrate, but the rural-urban migration shows no sign of abating.

Certainly, in the not too far distant future Devon House, with all the refurbishing in the world, will not do, and that particular strip along Hope Road offers ready accessibility for the public, though being not so close to the transport centre as to suffer from the rubbish and effluence of high-volume human traffic.

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