The St. Thomas Local Sustainable Development ( STLSDP) is a tool by which residents of St. Thomas are encouraged to actively participate in the planning and sustainable development of the parish. The basic objective of the Plan is to provide an improved quality of life for the residents by creating a parish of choice to live, raise families and do business.
In order to prepare this Plan, the St. Thomas Local Sustainable Development Planning Unit was created with assistance from the primary stakeholders, being the St. Thomas Parish Council - the Local Autority and the Sugar Tranformation Unit through the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries.
The St. Thomas Local Sustainable Development Planning Unit is at present conducting a series of Visioning Workshops where the "grass root" members of the communities and districts throughout the parish share their vision of developments and improvements over the next twenty years. Their vision, articulated into four basic and interrelated pillars, will not only guide the future development of their community but that of the parish and ultimately Jamaica.
Another component of the Plan is a comprehensive land use for the entire parish. This survey is important as it analyses current land use patterns and provides direction for future policy development and land use proposal thereby maximising the potential while maintaining harmony within the environment.