CIG makes bid to buy cove, plans pulled
(CNS): Efforts by the community to prevent a proposed development that would encroach on a significant part of the much-loved Smith Barcadere and Cove appear to have had a real impact. The premier told the Legislative Assembly Thursday that the government is trying to buy the land, and CNS has learned that the developer has pulled the current planning application to build 24 condos on land to the north of the popular beach and swimming spot. Premier Alden McLaughlin said government had been talking to the developer and the conversation was bearing fruit.
“It is hoped that over course of the next few days we will be able to provide some good news regarding government acquiring the property,” the premier told the LA.
Explained that his government was taking action, he said they were as concerned as the wider public about what would be a “change to an area that Caymanians and residents have enjoyed for years and had considered, particularly the seafront and rock outcroppings, as part of the Smith Barcadere public beach and the Smith Barcadere experience”.
He added, “This government intends to continue to make every effort to acquire this property in an effort to keep Smith Barcadere, all of what we know as Smith Cove, available to Caymanians, residents, visitors and future generations in perpetuity.”
Shortly after the premier delivered his comments in the LA, CNS learned that the developer has now withdrawn the planning application for the luxury condo development, which had been submitted to the planning department.
Although no deal has been signed, McLaughlin told his colleagues that he had jumped the gun about announcing the negotiations before government had successfully completed them because of an inaccurate editorial in the local daily newspaper. The Cayman Compass.
Taking aim at what he said were inaccuracies, McLaughlin refuted the allegations made by the paper’s editorial board that his government had missed the chance to buy the land from Dart.
The premier explained that Dart had never offered to sell the land to government but had suggested it as one of a number of possible beachfront pieces of land that it was willing to swap in exchange for the removal of public access to all of Dart-owned land along Seven Mile Beach, which the government did not support.
“The land adjoining Smith Barcadere was first discussed under the previous UDP administration as part of a variety of proposed changes to the original NRA Agreement. The Dart Group was seeking the government of the day to consolidate several future public access rights of way along Dart properties on the West Bay Road, and in exchange it would provide the equivalent size in a property that could be used as a new public beach.
“Various properties were put forward for consideration at differing times – including the land adjoining Smith Barcadere,” he said, noting that it was a “linked arrangement where the public would lose future access rights” to Seven Mile Beach in exchange for land owned by Dart. “There was neither consideration nor was there ever an offer by Dart to independently or separately sell the land adjoining Smith Barcadere to government without government first giving up the public rights of future access.”
He said that over the years people had fought to ensure that the public access rights remain protected and his government was not going to change that.
The threat of development at Smith Cove struck a deep chord across the whole community, as it has long been a traditional leisure spot for locals and visitors alike and popular as a safe family beach location.
The National Trust released a statement about the historic importance of the location Thursday, pointing out that it was nominating Smith Cove as a heritage spot. However, the Trust explained that in order for them to be able to protect such sites, it needed to buy the land. With no legal powers to object formally or do anything to stop the development, the Trust said it was sympathetic to the public outcry.
“Smith Barcadere is a beloved area of great historic and cultural significance. It is one of the few remaining public swimming places in George Town and a true icon of the nation’s capital,” the Trust said. “With the increasing pace of development in the Cayman Islands, it is now ever more important that proper steps be taken to ensure conservation of areas of beauty and historic and/or environmental importance. The sustainable development of our coastline is also of paramount importance and particularly in the case of Smith Cove, a culturally and environmentally significant site.”
The NT said a rare critically endangered plant, Trichilia havanensis, which is almost extinct on Grand Cayman and protected under the National Conservation Law, is growing on the wooded section of the lot that is slated for development.
With historical connections to the Turtle Farm and a place where Caymanian seafarers began many voyages or returned to clean or butcher their fish or turtle, it was also one of several barcaderes or ‘landing places’ where many boats were constructed and launched.
The wide community support for preserving the spot and halting the development has been clear from the comments here on CNS, across social media and reflected in the more than 3,000 signatures collected by Thursday lunchtime on a petition started on Monday.
See the full statements by the premier and the Trust on the CNS Library
Category: development, Local News
Govt ga money?
This is NOT a political win for Cayman. The new owner of the land is just doing the right thing based on what the people wanted, but we didn’t see the same opposition with the Kimpton so DART still gets to concrete public beaches while this developer has to walk away?
If anyone really took notice of the property lines, not one inch which is used now was going to be built on…We should thank the original donors of Smith’s Barcadere and thank this owner too, not our Govt.
The people now need to push the $43 million in Environmental slush-fund be used to buy beach land and protect our native plants.
Even Health City development lost an very rare (one of a kind!!) endangered Orchid to bulldozers… our people need to see more public objections instead of politicians on soap boxes.
Yes, the old Pageant Beach and Almond Tree sites should be the next public acquisitions for posterity!! CIG is already bleeding us anyway so at least it will be well spent!!
Hear Hear and Mrs Olde is tired of all real estate “plans” and has no reason to sell so just take part of our $43 million now in our Environmental Fund and BUY pageant beach too. This is an excellent spot in the center of town and accessible by public transport!!
As usual no forward thinking from the Government = wasting of tax payers money. Before some people rush to tear me down and give me thumbs down, let me explain.
The Government was well aware that this particular parcel of land was next to this beloved spot AND they were well aware that anyone who owned the land could do with it as they wished. To avoid the land being developed into something not approved by the public why didn’t they offer to purchase the land from Dart from the beginning?
Instead they wait until someone else purchased the land and until there is a public outcry before they are now attempting to purchase the land from current owner.
The current owner has now been put in a position to either continue their development and be met with scathing disapproval or yank the project and sell the land to the Government.
I assume the owner is an intelligent business person so they are going to sell it to the Government for a whole lot of money to include potential future profit had they gone ahead with their development, which I guarantee is going to be a hell of a lot more had government bought it from Dart initially.
We are safely assuming that Government has any public interest at all. They know these spots are important to everyone, Most of them grew up in those spots themselves. In the end, the bottom dollar is what runs through the veins of government, not spirituality, not religion. When you let people know how desperate your are for money or how much of your soul you’re willing to sell to get it, then what does one expect will happen. They’d sell our children for profit if they could.
Two things:
The thumbs have disappeared again so no need to worry about that.
You ask a lot of your government. Thinking ahead is generally not a Caribbean man mindset.
Will be interesting to see what CIG do if they became owners of this parcel of land, as it also includes the rapidly falling down green woodern apartments next to Grand Old House which were starting to be demolished.
Will they just leave it and let if become another blot on the landscape of this island.
Yes
Can you believe this.. The government doesn’t want a few condos to “mar” the views of a small public beach….. But they are willing to allow outsiders to destroy large swaths of public and private land in northside with the installation of the OTEC scam!.. follow the money
Land in north side lacks the sentimental value if smith cove.
Referring to my comment on 7/10/16 , 8 :45am , I ment that the petition by the people , forced Mr McLaughlin to do the wright thing for the people .
If the purchase is successful, them I hope that the “community”, lead by the RESIST folks, will come together to clean out the trees to make the area more hospitable, easy to use and safer.
Also I really hope that the “community” will RESPECT the double yellow lines in the area. Otherwise, RCIPS please ticket everyone until the purchase price is recouped.
I can remember in 2007 when a clean up was done by a work crew from the prison. They tore down the temporary shelters and cleared away all the junk. The guys involved were clearly happy to do it so why not repeat that exercise.
Respect for laws is not what they are known for. Government or the people.
They should sell it to them for double the price =]
With your money, obviously,
Isn’t this what the developers were after in the first place? They knew two things – the first was that the current property market wouldn’t support any more condo development so the land was effectively worthless to them and the second was saying they were going to build there would cause a public outcry in an election year. Smart bit of maneuvering?
Pardon me all you clever editors and anonymouites: is Smith Bacadere Smith Cove or is Smith Cove Smith Bacadere. Hello!
Government knows exactly how to get any land that they want in this country. Maybe they should ask the families of the previous land owner of UCCI and the Affordable homes in Windsor Park. Don’t let them fool you… No!
What nonsense. T
hat Dart offered to include the land in a deal should have flagged to any half wit that they did not see it as central to their plans. As soon as that was disclosed it was a matter of time before it was going to be sold to someone.
At that stage the Govt should have done what it has now done – identified that they cannot let it go to a developer and must by it back for the country.
The developers will be rubbing their hands. They will not have withdrawn their plan (and the prospect of handsome profits) for the love of the country. I have little doubt that if they do sell it to the Govt it will be for more than they paid for it, which by definition is more than Dart was willing to (did) sell it for, which by definition is how much the Govt could have got it for if it had been thinking.
So… well done Govt for waking up but no thanks for costing us more money in the process of your snoozing!!
@11.00pm You are certainly not giving the Dart group any respect. Do you really believe that after Dart was unsuccessful in the attempt to use the Smith Barcadere lot as leverage, that they would turn right around and give up that leverage by selling it to Government. That would not have been very smart, and we all know that Dart is all about being smart.
lol oh please
Way to step up to the plate!
Poor naysayers on this site. Try to be positive and you might enjoy life more!
First time I have ever seen government act this fast. Must be election time. Now say it with me, on three, one… two… three! ….”Wotes!” 😉
I suggest that the Government buy the old Pageant Beach property and also preserve another beautiful property that could be converted into a National Park before that is sold and developed too.
And Almond Tree/Treehouse beachfront area. These should be public greenspaces if the CIG had genuine interest in preserving remaining undeveloped beachfront areas and creating green buffer areas for public recreation.
Government = mind control; screwing with our minds all day everyday.
Vote? Never again as OMOV is the farthest thing from democracy!
Every registered voter in the Cayman Islands should have 1 vote per district and 1 vote in the Sister Islands. That gives each voter the right to elect 1 member of each district and 1 member in the Sister Islands.
Is that not more democratic? Please think about it.
Yes great idea! A significantly larger and more expensive property so possibly a lease to own kind of deal to spread the cost over a number of years – possibly even offering future duty concessions to the owner on the financing portion of the cost so no net “Cost” to government (saving on administration of fee and duty revenue i.e up to 35%). I would also think it may be time to start considering the future usage of beach-front cemetaries as public parks – eg. By offering plots in-land or free cremation to families with current rights to inter to gradually retain government rights to the plots. Work with familes to agree a plan for 50-100yrs down the road for the graves to be moved to another site to make way for a beautiful public space with a memorial to those originally buried there, who managed to save a little bit of the paradise they enjoyed in their lives for future generations. The business case would be to value these properties in terms of the tourism revenue they ultimately generate by providing beautiful amenities and use a portion of that revenue to finance and maintain them.
You mean the new Hyatt?
http://www.gov.ky/portal/page/portal/cighome/pressroom/archive/201507/government-needs-a-development-plan
There are several areas where the Government can improve how it manages lands in the Cayman Islands, says the Auditor General, Alastair Swarbrick, in his report made public today. The most significant concern he raises is the continuing development of land without the benefit of a national development plan, which is required by law and should be used to guide government decision makers.
“I understand the challenges involved in creating a comprehensive development plan for the Cayman Islands,” said Mr. Swarbrick. “However, there is no excuse for continuing to develop properties on such an ad-hoc basis. A development plan would help protect these beautiful islands for future generations.”
The report, “National Land Development and Government Real Property,” looks at how well Government manages both public and private lands in the Cayman Islands. Included are case studies of recent development projects, such as the National Road Authority (NRA) Agreement (building of the West Bay Road extension), South Sound (Adagio) Development and Health City. The audit also looked at management of the land that is covered by water around the islands; it found gaps in responsibility for managing this important resource.
The audit found a number of areas where government has not followed its own laws. For example, on several occasions the Public Management and Finance Law (PMFL) was effectively ignored, and former ministers overreached their roles in the negotiations relating to the NRA Agreement. The audit also identified a number of areas where the framework in place does not provide the level of transparency and accountability the auditors expected to find.
In his report Mr. Swarbrick makes several recommendations for Government to improve how it manages this important public policy area. This would include opening Central Planning Authority (CPA) and Development Control Board (DCB) meetings to the public and providing greater rationale for decisions. He also recommends that these committees have broader representation than just members from the building industry.
“I am concerned about the lack of transparency we found in how the CPA and DCB operate,” said the Auditor General. “I believe that some development decisions might have been different had the information been discussed in a public forum rather than behind closed doors.”
More information regarding this report can be obtained by contacting Martin Ruben at the Office of the Auditor General at (345) 244-3206. A copy of the report is available at http://www.auditorgeneral.gov.ky or downloaded here, National Land Development and Government Real Property.
There are a lot of adjectives to describe Smith Cove, but inclusive, friendly and safe are not words I’d use to describe an experience there. Part of the problem is the criminal hoodlum element that uses the forested area for cover just north of the beach. I hope that can be cleaned up if the CIG does in fact acquire the land. If they would also refrain from ganja hotboxing the family washroom hut, that would help improve the family-friendliness of this special spot.
This goes to the crux of some of the problems with use of government revenue whereby revenue generated by specific areas of the economy are mixed into a general usage plot and not used for the maintenance and development of the future of those areas of revenue generation and re-generation. Smith cove is an excellent example eg. If by a conservative measure we give smith cove a government revenue generating ability of Usd 1m (mainly from tourism attraction) then it would make sense to protect that asset by providing security at that site for eg. 100k per year. Government needs to start making smarter decisions about protecting future revenue.
if anyone is still with me… Pensions is another good example – govt take in about 2.5million in fees annually from pension plan members ($20 per account regardless of how much you have invested in the plan) but then they nickle and dime the oversight of those pension plans with an understaffed, underskilled and under-funded regulator. Both the public who invest and the staff at the national pensions office/depertment of labour and pensions deserve better. They deserve to get what they are paying for!
Well, why not make the whole island into a concrete prison, so you can feel safe?
so the government(taxpayer) will now buy the land…even though the developers plans was not going to interfere with the use of smith cove in any way….?????
sound like another lose-lose for everybody…..maybe a victory for ignorance and backwardness….
just another day in wonderland….
Deal with it
We have had reactive Governmwnts for the last two decades. They wait for a crisis, then they try to do something. Progressive! Will the Visionaries please come forward !
please come forward.
Well you all frothed at the mouth over something that the press misrepresented, now you are complaining that you got what you want.
clear as mud alden…….zzzzzzzz
That’s because you’re asleep.
“The premier explained that Dart had never offered to sell the land to government but had suggested it as one of a number of possible beachfront pieces of land that it was willing to swap in exchange for the removal of public access to all of Dart-owned land along Seven Mile Beach, which the government did not support.” This statement should explain what dart really thinks of the regular person he doesn’t want any low class people own his “beach” thanks for the ppm for doing things in the best interest of the people the dart organization is a wolf in sheep’s clothing
Hear Hear!
Referring to the 5.44 pm comment about the public beach access on the west bay road, I hope the public will give full support to the two courageous west bay ladies who are currently fighting to protect a right of way. If we had more women like them and if the men would step up, we would not have lost so much of our precious environmental assets. It’s your country, what are your rights!
5:44pm I was reading that same line and thought the exact same thing, even “camana bay” which many mispronounce as “Caymana bay” just look at the name and how it’s designed it’s not for the caymanian public nor Caribbean public it’s very Americanised and just goes to show that DART is here to pillage and plunder.
@ 5:44 pm , The people of Cayman did a petition that forced him do the wright thing for the people.
Right on!! I was just going to post that same thing with a cut and paste of the same statement. It shows that Dart is only for himself while throwing tidbits of things to the paupers.
I’m going to cut and paste anyway because the government did the right thing in this situation. Thank you!!!
Dart wanted to “swap (the Smith Cove property) in exchange for the removal of public access to all of Dart-owned land along Seven Mile Beach, which the government did not support.
“He (Alden) said that over the years people had fought to ensure that the public access rights remain protected and his government was not going to change that.”
Election time means vote buying time
You have to admit he’s recognizing and defending the rights and wishes of the entire local community (the REASON governments are elected), as opposed to buying wotes with a case of beer and 5 pounds of fresh beef.
In the previous article Alden was criticised for not doing anything. Damned if you do and damned if you don’t. Congratulations and press on Alden. You have MY vote for sure.
WELL DONE to all who protested the development of the land that encompasses Smith Cove. Thanks to such efforts, we might just save one of the last pieces of public beach whereby both locals, residents and tourists alike can congregate together which in many cases help form lasting friendships and experiences. It is a pity that it has taken a private developer to put forth plans to develop the area before the CI government decides to take action and purchase this piece of land. Like my grand mother use to say, the government likes to do things backward. Do the government realize the amount of monies that could have been saved had they purchased this property donkey years ago?
5.16pm Special thanks to the PPM Government for doing the right thing.
I totally agree!
thank heaven…..someone has seen the light. Long may we be able to enjoy this little piece of Cayman in peace!
Maybe Dart offered to purchase the Compass, which would explain the confusion in the editorial.
I thought he already ‘owned’ it
I hope the Opposition learn well from PPM or Alden’s efforts. That is what it means to put people first over money. I also hope Mckeeva Bush acknowledge such efforts too.
WE NEED TO SEE MORE OF SUCH EFFORTS FROM OUR MLAs 🙂
oh please he’s laid back and not doing much…
Haha, Alden didn’t do anything until Al Suckoo and Winston Connolly went public and then he had to jump up and do something (wake up I should say)