NRA redirecting road for developer

| 20/03/2017 | 25 Comments
Cayman News Service

Beach Bay, Bodden Town

(CNS): Residents in Beach Bay are worried that government is making changes to roads around their homes to facilitate a developer, who has yet to make any serious commitment to a proposed hotel project, that will block their beach access, and that the public purse is footing the bill. Residents in the coastal neighbourhood in Bodden Town recently received a letter from the NRA outlining changes that will see parts of Beach Bay Road closed and redirected, giving the owners of the land better access. However, nearby residents say it will negatively impact them.

Also concerned about who is paying and government’s failure to do its due diligence on the people behind the proposed St James Point resort, residents have told CNS that they don’t think the change should happen in favour of a developer where there are no concrete plans and against the wishes of local owners already invested for a long time. They have also questioned why public money should be used to help wealthy developers who have not yet submitted planning permission for the project.

One of the main concerns is the combined closure and redirection of parts of Beach Bay Road, which the residents believe will, contrary to the claims by the NRA letter, affect beach access. They say it’s quite clear that the change will result in the residents in the area and the wider public losing their rights of way to the coastline.

This comes just as legislators are due to debate legislation in the Legislative Assembly regarding wider beach access problems. During the last meeting, Planning Minister Kurt Tibbetts made a commitment to amend legislation to protect long-held rights of access to the islands’ beaches.

CNS contacted the NRA, the minister and ministry with questions about the road closure and the diversion expected to happen this year, but after almost week there has been no response from any of them. We also asked the ministry about any due diligence that may have been undertaken into the developers who are proposing the resort, but no one has responded.

The proposed development of St James Point was one of several possible private sector developments that the PPM government was depending on during this administration but which have not materialised.

Government signed an MOU regarding around $25 million worth of concessions and a partial marl road has been cleared, which was paid for by the developers, in connection with the proposed resort but little other movement has happened at the site. CNS understands that at the time of posting, no plans have been submitted to the CPA.

It is also understood that while the developer reportedly footed the bill for the marl road that will lead into the resort if it were ever to be built, this more significant road change that will impact dozens of home owners is being paid for with public cash.

See the NRA letter notifying residents and the proposed details in the CNS Library

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Category: development, Local News

Comments (25)

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  1. Anonymous says:

    PPM, you never cease to amaze me. You will rush through legislation for developers to be able to sell air!!!! But will ignore CAYMANIANS who want to access their land to do agriculture on.

    You all wasting time sending a candidate in my district. Had enough of the do nothing, soon come approach.

  2. Anonymous says:

    Spend that money on fixing my crappy road instead

  3. Anonymous says:

    This proposed road diversion makes absolutely no sense whatsoever except from discouraging the public from using the public beach there. They are simply trying to make the public believe that the road no longer goes to the beach. What is going on in Government? Does anyone even check, inspect and analyse some of the things that they agree or approve? They have now given Dart one lane and the sidewalk of part of West Bay Road, immediately north of Royal Palms,which will now be two lanes with no sidewalk for how long or is this permanent? Were the drawings for the house under construction in South Sound even reviewed as the staircase from the second floor ends up in the road. Soon as the house is occupied someone will come running down the stairs and end up in front of a vehicle, then they’ll blame the driver. Last time I checked the Development and Planning Law & Regulations it said that setbacks were to be measured from,” walls, STAIRS, balconies, etc”. What a mess!

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  4. Anonymous says:

    I seem to recall that Kurt Tibbetts (and/or his immediate family members) owns property in this very area. Has he declared this, in keeping with the requirements of The Standards in Public Life Law? Despite, or indeed because of, his official responsibility, shouldn’t he recuse himself from all matters related to this issue? Simply in the interest of being transparent which the PPM campaigned strongly on in 2013!!

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  5. Anonymous says:

    Developer should be required, at a minimum, to post 50% of total budget committment as a callable credit bond before NRA lifts a shovel. We have total amateurs running our show.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Developer is a promoter, he has no money and the Architectural renderings are an impractical joke of pretty pictures from an overseas company hoping to get a commission.
      Put them in the same camp as Ironwood .

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      • Anonymous says:

        Well look at the local project manager they signed up and how long they have been stonewalling the project. Another flaky pie in the skie!

  6. Anonymous says:

    The ACC should shine a bright light in on NRA, Lands and Survey, and Planning. These three depts have behaved with glaring strangeness for years and with robust autonomy – almost always favoring “big developers”, alumni contractors, and cronies at the literal and figurative expense of residents. There are people being paid – if not in cash, in kind. It would not be surprising (or a random coincidence) to find that some project lists share May deadlines for completion.

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  7. Mokes-for-all says:

    Follow the money …

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  8. Anonymous says:

    “Planning Minister Kurt Tibbetts made a commitment” Hahahahahaha. No shit!

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  9. Anonymous says:

    West Bay Road 2. You never hear a peep about that now.

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    • Anonymous says:

      West Bay Road changes/amendments/additions were NEEDED. Hence why those coming from West Bay don’t have terrible traffic anymore. Unlike the battle toward the east! Poor sufferers coming from that side morning and evening must be beyond frustrated with the level of traffic!

      Ms. Alberga and the ponies need to find else where to go now. Make way, for the greater good!

      There is far too much greed in Cayman; we will not survive if people do not start to think bigger, for all not just a few!

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      • Anonymous says:

        Err, yes…think you getting your points mixed up 8.58. Drink more coffee.

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      • Anonymous says:

        I come from the East and agree with you on that part alone. As for Mrs Alberga I doubt very much that this will help us for the most part with the long queues from the airport all the way to Hurleys every day. All it would do is cause yet another bottleneck as all roads lead to one way out East eventually and THAT is the cause of the problem.

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  10. Hancock says:

    I recommend people to visit the mark road. All it consists of is a bunch of marl dumped in the mangrove. This development is going nowhere. It is a con. Reminds me of Jean Doucet when he took over Governors Sound.
    Government needs to check these guys out.

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  11. Sir Thomas says:

    Such a shame that government is hell-bent on spending our money before planning permission has even been sought. Have they no foresight?

    Beach Bay is a special place to many on this island, we should be protecting it and not pouring more concrete near and within its environs.

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  12. Anonymous says:

    WHY on the face of this earth does our Government continue to bend over backwards to please this guy???

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  13. Anonymous says:

    Well maybe people need to ask who is involved with this developer and you will see why the government is facilitating things. So much for transparency. May 2017 can’t come soon enough!

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    • Man-o-War says:

      So … who is involved with the developer?

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      • Anonymous says:

        Keep Seven Mile Beach away from quiet residential areas. Beach Bay residents and surrounding neighbours want to keep the tranquility and safety of the area. What is a resort hotel doing in a low density residential neighbourhood???

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