$3M 7MB upgrade in final phase

| 19/07/2019 | 72 Comments
Cayman News Service
Public Beach Development

(CCNS): The long promised upgrade for the Seven Mile Public Beach is heading into its final phase next month, officials said in a press release. The $3 million enhancement was promised by Dart as part of its lucrative deal with government that converted a huge swathe of the investor’s land into beachfront property, enhancing its value. Improving and expanding Public Beach was included in the third amendment to that agreement, and earlier this year Dart completed the surrender of land to the east of Seven Mile Public Beach to the government.

This third and final phase of the project will focus on upgrades to the parking areas, officials said, including the addition of designated food vendor parking spots. It also includes adding new walking paths around the children’s playground, improvements to the volleyball courts, and the construction of a restroom block.

Public Lands Commission Chief Inspector Winsome Prendergast said this new area will allow the commission to better manage commercial activity on public beach.

“The redevelopment of the Seven Mile Beach Park will better facilitate public use of the beach for recreational purposes as intended,” she said. “All approved vendors will, where practical, be relocated and restricted to the purpose-built Vendor Village designated area or the car park, to the benefit of beach goers.”

The plan also includes the removal of invasive plant species, which will be replaced with native and indigenous plants including mahogany (Swietenia mahogany), sea grape (Coccoloba uvifera), plop nut (Thespesia populnea), cocoplum (Chrysobalanus icaco), sea lavender (Argusia gnaphalodes), and bay candlewood (Borrichia arborescens).

As the final phase gets underway, officials said that the new southern pathway is now open and the Mobi-mat has been temporarily relocated to ensure continued beach access for persons with disabilities. Throughout the project, the public is still able to access and book the beach cabanas.

Temporary parking will be available on the empty lot to the east of the current lot, but once the work is complete private vehicles will no longer be able to drive directly on to the beach. Officials said this was for the safety of all beach users in future, putting an end to “instances of reckless driving near the cabanas and soccer pitch”, the release stated.

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Category: development, Local News

Comments (72)

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  1. Anonymous says:

    “…book the beach cabanas” is this a new thing?

  2. Anonymous says:

    The only improvement public beach needs is gettin rid of all the piles of crappy beach chairs.

    • Tell It Like It Is says:

      I guess what’s evident is not evident huh ? IconicTower= completion of beach upgrade +duty concessions granted *supposedly creation of a lot of jobs for caymanians; while bringing in thousands of workers plus a number of billionaires thus bringing the Caymanian population to the highly touted need for more than100 thousand residents, as touted by the HighEchelons of the Unity Government Cabal.

  3. Anonymous says:

    Another example of DART taking over our Islands.

    Spineless crooked Caymanians have allowed this to occur.

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    • Anonymous says:

      I think this article forgets a important KEY matter

      THIS IS NOT OUT THE GOODNESS OF DART”S HEART

      THEY TOOK THE ROAD AND PUT A PROFIT MAKING HOTEL

      this was part of taking road.

      so the article should read Dart finally actioned what he promised after taking the ROADDDDDDDDD

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  4. Anonymous says:

    What happened to the dog park and camping grounds?

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  5. Rick says:

    The beach is not being upgraded when we take open space and plant flowers and other landscaping. The landscaping takes away spaces that can be used by families for camping, gathering and recreation. Between the idiot vendors, beach chairs and the upgrading, there will soon be no space for simply enjoying the beach.

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  6. Rick says:

    I took my family to the Public Beach last week Sunday and I was appalled by the stacks of rusting chairs, chained up to posts, taking up the beach and ‘uglying’ up the place. Also, old derelict cook trucks, barbecue equipment chained up to light posts and abandoned. The public beach is a dump. The government is not doing its job.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Still way better than the shithole dump you spawned from, so just be grateful you’re not there and can enjoy our sandy white beaches and crystal clear waters with top of the line service from our vendors.

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      • Anonymous says:

        Someone speaking truth really touched a nerve hey! You probably park on your front lawn too.

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      • Anonymous says:

        It’s obvious from the the thumbs down that most of you came from shithole countries, well welcome to paradise please leave it the way you found it because if you all couldn’t make a difference there what makes you think that you all can do it here.

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        • Anonymous says:

          It’s obvious you think you speak for all Caymanians. Get a clue, bro.

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          • Anonymous says:

            actually bro I just like to speak the truth, and as for caymanians who most are clueless and ignorant to these rich devils and any other pieces of driftwood that reaches our shores, that their plan is to divide and conquer, and that the only race here that’s not unified is the same caymanians this is why we are now at the bottom of the so-called food chain allowing big money to come in and take over, being passive and kind when all along our kindness was taken for weakness, so you see bro you need to get a clue because I stand alone next to the truth.

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            • Anonymous says:

              Bro, you still trippin.

            • Anonymous says:

              @1:38 – Why do you write at a second grade level? Even 7 year olds know what a capital letter is. Caymanian ignorance at its finest.

            • Anonymous says:

              So what you are saying it that you are a racist and think that Caymanian is a race “and that the only race here that’s not unified is the same caymanians” which it is not. However I understand what you are saying and you seem to be picking up on a DT type victimization belief.

      • Anonymous says:

        I don’t see the slightest clue to show that poster 3.32 is not Caymanian… you people are sick! Anyone that has an opposing view is a foreigner, and should go back to where they come from. NO! We’re Caymanians, and this is our view. TUFF.

      • Anonymous says:

        @1:14pm – Well as a Caymanian I was spawned from this “shithole dump” which includes the public beach. As far as top of the line vendors, if that’s what you call the beach vendors, I’m guessing you also consider Corner restaurant “fine dining”.

        You just can’t fix ignorance.

  7. Anonymous says:

    Does the the public beach still belonged to the LEO’s club of Grand Cayman?

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  8. Anonymous says:

    When they say, $3m upgrade does that include taxes and fees that he would have normally paid that he does not pay?

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  9. Anonymous says:

    What invasive plant species has been taking over public beach?????

    I don’t recall having to chop bush or pick out burrs to get to the beach so what exactly are they helping to solve?.

    How are all the imported shrubs and trees they have installed considered native?????

    They are native species but they did not propagate them. What they have planted came from Florida. Ask the DOA for the permits!!!

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    • Anonymous says:

      Australian pine would be one. Scaevola or white inkberry would be another. Can’t understand the rest of your comment.

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      • Anonymous says:

        Really don’t understand your response. Are casuarina trees taking over or have they ever been a issue on public beach? Did dart remove any of these during this revamp? Are there any scaevola or white ink berry taking over public beach? Do you know the difference of the native scaevola vs the Florida import which is here to stay? Have you seen the public beach prior to the start of works and now before commenting? Maybe you should also look at the invasive weedilia plants they have planted by the thousands that are also water hungry and will be dead and an isore when it’s turn over to CI Government and they don’t run the irrigation.

        Let me know if you require further education on the matter and their lack of appropriate plant selection.

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        • BeaumontZodecloun says:

          You sound really angry. This is something we need to all discuss calmly………. not that it will make a difference in what Dart does, but that we, the residents have and understanding and agreement about what we want and the direction toward which Cayman should go.

        • Anonymous says:

          You need to chill out, troll. The casuarina needles smother everything under them and the inkberry overgrows everything. They both grow faster than the natives. Don’t be spiteful.

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          • Anonymous says:

            Think you missed the posters point, has any plant species taken over seven mile public beach that the great uncle dart is saving us from?

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  10. Anonymous says:

    Im confused, is the beach being expanded or is it just the parking lot

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  11. Anonymous says:

    I feel like this whole “improvement” is much like Native Americans being offered beads and other shiny things for the purchase of land. We will be temporarily satisfied with Dart’s shiny toys and he will have ‘whupped us again’. When are we going to learn that dealing with Dart will always end with an outcome that unfairly favors him and his minions.

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  12. Anonymous says:

    Yeah, you believe that Dart will pump $3m into a SMB Public Beach upgrade?

    If you do, can I send you a proposal that would make you a billionaire in 1 year?

    Email address, please.

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  13. Anon says:

    Please can we do away with all the beach chairs and rude vendors. Have a kiosk set up with storage room so if someone wants a beach chair, they can go and rent it and it will be brought to the beach accordingly. That way we can get our beach back and the vendors can still rent their chairs, but we should be able to enjoy the beauty of the beach without the ugly chairs and umbrellas

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    • Anonymous says:

      Honestly, they shouldn’t even be ALLOWED to operate on public beach. Whats next? The kids running up to tourist to sell mangos or chiclets?

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    • Anonymous says:

      Not to mention the illegal jet ski rental with no regard for human life.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Please note the drawing includes hundreds of beach chairs going down to the waterline. This is governments way of “notifying” you that nothing will change with the vendors.

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  14. Anonymous says:

    And what about Calicos? Is it still closing? When is it moving to Barkers?

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  15. Anonymous says:

    And where is the promised dog park?!

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  16. Anonymous says:

    Everything above the beach is going to look great. The beach itself will still be covered in for rent lounge chairs, and beach goers still hassled by vendors. That’s not Dart’s doing, that’s a complete failure by government to deal with the issue.

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  17. Anonymous says:

    Can there please be metered power provided to the cabanas/kiosks? That is, to use it you have to pay with a card in 30 minute segments. This should not be provided at taxpayers expense.

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