Dart’s vendor huts for 7MB revealed

| 17/10/2019 | 106 Comments
Cayman News Service
Vendor units for Seven Mile Beach

(CNS): Dart has confirmed that pictures posted on social media recently of brightly coloured but very small huts are indeed their new vendor units for the Seven Mile Beach revamp project. Responding to CNS enquiries about the new kiosks, Dart officials said that they were designed to meet government specifications and to help with the management of commercial activity at the public beach. Dart has been working on upgrading the beach area as part of the agreement the developer signed with government.

“The $3million project undertaken by Dart to enhance the recreational areas at Seven Mile Public Beach was included in the Third Amendment to the National Roads Authority Agreement between the Cayman Islands Government and Dart,” A spokesperson for the islands’ largest investor told CNS in response to our enquiries.

“The Vendor Village was designed to facilitate the Public Lands Commission (PLC) in its role managing commercial activity on Public Beach and maintaining prescriptive rights to beach access. The government specified the basic design requirements of the vendor kiosks and Dart was responsible for their construction.

“The kiosks are intended to function as a point of sale complete with the necessary electrical infrastructure, rather than as storage, and can be opened up to allow vendors to utilise the sides as display space if required.”

Government made a decision to allow controlled vending at Seven Mile Public Beach because of the number of people who were using the popular spot to carry out a range of, in many cases, unlicensed and often unregulated commercial activists, from beach chair rental to food sales.


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Category: Local News

Comments (106)

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  1. Anonymous says:

    wow..KYD 3 million for those? Who’s getting the kickbacks on this beach upgrade?

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    • Anonymous says:

      The usual culprits.

    • Say Wa says:

      Why are you we people so farking negative who said that the “small huts” cost 3 million. ShMe on youse and all who everyday spread nothing but lies and demean our country in the eyes of the world. Your tLk about corruption only serves to make people believe that you’re jealous and want some of the action. If you had info on corruption shouldn’t you all who in one breath say you love Csyman report it. No you prefer to go out there and rumour monger and scandalize not understanding that I’m so doing you are hurting your country. Desk with”facts” people.

  2. Anonymous says:

    This is an abomination! This so massively down grades our tourism product that I am speechless. Anyone who thinks otherwise is either delusional or on the take.

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  3. Anonymous says:

    Oh. Those are not outdoor toilets? That explains why I did not see the toilet installed yesterday. Anyway lucky for me there was a bucket inside, and I still had a few napkins left from my fast food meal…

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  4. Anonymous says:

    Great to see Dart is continuing to invest to make our island a better place. Ignore the ignorant haters there are many of us forward thinking caymanians who welcome what you do

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  5. Margaert says:

    Ridiclously ugly. Ridiculous idea.

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  6. Anonymous says:

    Thats what we get. Its Darts land who the hell are we tell him he cant put backhouses on 7 mile!!

    Ha ha. Wait until that beach is no longer public!!!.

    I drove by Olea yesterday and let me assure the whole Cayman islands this morning. That dump is getting fixed ASAP.

    No way on earth rich people would purchase them Olea homes if that dump is their front and back yards.

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  7. Anonymous says:

    Let the Gladiator Games begin!

    • Chris Johnson says:

      I am puzzled. The island clearly wants high net worth long term tourism. Paradoxically the island wants to cater for the cheap cruise ship tourists who do not even have a bob to spend. The two markets are right next door to each other at the public beach. How friggin daft can you get?

      We need do what Anguilla and the Turks do, cater for the weathly. Even Mr Dart is now in the a Turks. The Turks has high class condo hotels on Grace Bay whilst most of Cayman condos are relics from the Butler Brothers in the 70s. Luckily one or two of them have been knocked down. Unfortunately there is little depth to the sea from the road, unlike the Turks, to do decent developments.

      In conclusion the CIG needs choose its tourism market. They cannot have their cake and eat it.

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  8. Anonymous says:

    This “you are posting too fast” is quite annoying. What I figured out: If I post more than 1 comment on the same article, it would tell you “go back”, but not always. Sometime I just want to post one comment, it still says “go back”. Then if I want to comment on someone’s post and click on a thumb at the same time, it won’t allow. Either a comment or a thumb. In other words you are either click on a thumb, or a comment. Not both.

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    • Anonymous says:

      I always copy my posts before clicking “post comment” so I don’t lose them if that happens. If you get “posting too fast”, just try your post again immediately and it’ll probably go through. If not, try again and it will. Basically, there is no period you need to wait after that message before trying again so just copy your post before trying the first time.

  9. Anonymous says:

    They look fine to me

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    • Anonymous says:

      Too small and useless. The higglers will spill their stuff all over the area around these boxes defeating the whole purpose of containment of their activities.
      Dart already apologizing with their “government specifications” defense.

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      • Jotnar says:

        Seems a pretty good defense to me. ” I know you asked me to build this design, but i have unilaterally decided that you are wrong and I am going, in breach of our agreement, to build his design instead, because you are clearly an idiot. At additional cost to that agreed in our contract, which I will write off” Said no contractor, ever.

        Blame the idiots that designed the huts, not the contractor that followed the spec.

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    • Anonymous says:

      DartBot you are paid to admire all things Dart.

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  10. Anonymous says:

    The tourists will probably think they are toilets.

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  11. Anonymous says:

    I thought they were port-o-potties at first… wow…

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  12. Bertie : B says:

    omg are those for soldiers to stand in , cant wait to see the changing of the guard .

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  13. Anonymous says:

    Another insult and eyesore on our beautiful beach. Bright colors can hide blight.

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  14. Anonymous says:

    This looks ghetto

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  15. Anonymous says:

    Why is this regime allowing certain people the benefit of commercializing a public beach? There should be no vendors or businesses or hustlers allowed. It’s literally what our repeat stayover tourists cherish about the Cayman Islands, and this regime is poisoning the well at every turn!

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    • Anonymous says:

      Why? Why? Why? Why are we allowing any higgler’s of any kind! Really wtf? The one thing that makes Cayman special is that tourists can come here and enjoy our beautiful beaches in peace. This is so stupid, and degrades our tourism product.

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      • Anonymous says:

        If this government is going to copy cat other places I wish they would pick the good stuff. They are allowing people to drag down Cayman by embracing these classless ideas. I think all that is needed at the public beach is a few nice cabanas, toilets and showers and places where the visitors and locals alike can spread out a towel and lie in the sun after their swim They had similar huts at Coewood beach and they were hardly fit for purpose and had to be torn down. There should be no selling of anything on this beach except perhaps a little truck with snow cones or icecream. These vehicles should just be able to pull up in a location in the parking lot for an hour or so and then move on. There should not be any permanent or semi-permanent stalls in this area. It cheapens it!

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        • Anonymous says:

          They are like minute versions of the vendors huts in Oistins. Except the vendors in Oistins sell the nicest local food and these will just sell crap.

    • Anonymous says:

      Correct! No one should be blighting our beautiful beaches with this Port-o-potty shrines.

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    • Anonymous says:

      @11:12 …because they are gutless and afraid to say no! Makes me sick to see that these so called politicians have given the beach away. It is no longer a public beach but a commercial beach for a few. I really hope it turns into an uncontrollable zoo!

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  16. Zak loves shoes says:

    Well looking at the size no more oxtail with extra gravy on the rice, unna ga have to go on diet now!

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    • Anonymous says:

      1 dish, 1 side, 1 rice…maybe. If they use shelves.

      I assume the electricity goes in somewhere…

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  17. Anonymous says:

    Same price as Camana Bay shop front? For that?

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  18. Anonymous says:

    remember…a tardis is always bigger on the inside!

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  19. Anonymous says:

    nice job cig!….our ‘world class’ civil service strikes again!
    this is up there with the south sound boardwalk to nowhere and the illegal sidewalk railings in gt!

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    • Anonymous says:

      To be fair, I see many people using the South Sound boardwalk – especially people with small children.

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    • Anonymous says:

      These were not designed by government.

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      • Anonymous says:

        Ummm – so you are saying its a government specification is just a bald lie? Which they would get caught in 30 seconds after the press repeated it? Or you could entertain the possibility that this is exactly what DCI asked for – its not as though they have a stellar reputation for getting things right.

      • Anonymous says:

        You see it right? CIG made specifications, but not responsible for the design. Just as planning specify requirements for planning permission but we design the buildings.

    • Anonymous says:

      You forgot the port.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Boardwalk is a great amenity.

  20. Anonymous says:

    Have no fear the vendors will turn it into the same old litter strewn dump it was before within a couple of weeks

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  21. Anonymous says:

    And the towers of rusty old beach chairs go where?

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  22. Why Is a Secretive Billionaire Buying Up the Cayman Islands? says:

    According to today’s New York Times online front page, Mr. Dart can afford to build us better huts….

    https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/18/business/kenneth-dart-cayman-islands.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage

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    • Anonymous says:

      thank you for the link

    • Anonymous says:

      Why should he be building huts at all. There should be NO vendors at the Public Beach…

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      • Anonymous says:

        Because government asked for it as part of the deal to relocate the road – its government that wants the vendors there (or rather, is frightened to say no to them and thinks giving them some sentry boxes will appease them – fat chance).

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        • Anonymous says:

          DartBot seems as you have seen the so called NRA Agreement, please publish it for all to see.

          No that will not be done too many sweetheart deals for Dart.

          CNS: The NRA deal and the three amendments are in the CNS Library here.

  23. Anonymous says:

    We can all thank Julianna and her Public Lands Commission for this newest embarrassment

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  24. Johnny says:

    No one in US gonna buy anything on Cayman anyway….not after NY Times article on seas rising and garbage dump!

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  25. Anonymous says:

    This is the last straw now.

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    • Deep Pockets says:

      I would buy a couple of dozen of these and rent out as mini hotel rooms if they can be tipped on their side. Probably charge $150 per night.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Stop polluting the environment, no more straws!

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  26. Anonymous says:

    Good firewood…they won’t last 6 mos.

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  27. Anonymous says:

    These are the most adorable porta potties I’ve ever seen!

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  28. Anonymous says:

    You couldn’t swing a cat in those…

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  29. Anonymous says:

    There should be no commercial activity allowed!

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  30. Anonymous says:

    Portapotties. Jeez, they could’ve done better than that. I guess that’s their way of saying Caymanians are shit.

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  31. Anonymous says:

    Atrocious! Who should we say thank you for this government specified embarrassment?

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  32. Anonymous says:

    Another of Joey’s bright ideas. Pandering to the law breakers.

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  33. Sherry says:

    So sad. Is cayman going to turn into Mexico. It was so nice to be on the beautiful beaches of cayman without all of this. Cayman has seen its best days

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    • Anonymous says:

      Free El Chapo!

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    • Anonymous says:

      The politicians allowed the vendors to ruin the Public Beach. They didn’t and don’t have the guts to prevent the commercialism.
      Too busy pandering to would- be voters.

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  34. Anonymous says:

    get vendors off the beach….public beach has been ruined by these scumbags

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  35. Anonymous says:

    anthing that makes it less appealing for vendors is fine with me.

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  36. Anonymous says:

    Congratulations! Outhouses on the world’s famous SMB!

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    • Anonymous says:

      I can remember having something like that at the end of the garden with a big hole dug under it – that was in the 1950s!

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  37. Anonymous says:

    Except they are not Dart’s at all. But you knew that, didn’t you?

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  38. Anonymous says:

    Huts or not huts, it is still a complete gong show down there. Give it 6 months and the huts will be a shambles once they are the responsibility of CIG.

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    • Anonymous says:

      The question is, why were the unlicensed and unregulated vendors not removed.

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      • Anonymous says:

        Don’t worry – Joey is on it. As soon as he takes another trip to Monaco to confer with billionaires on a mega yacht, he’ll take care of it.

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      • Anonymous says:

        Precisely. They should never have been allowed . Started in McKeeva’s time and none of the politicians since have had the balls to deal with it.

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    • Alan says:

      They will become lethal weapons flying around town when the old hurricane comes along

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    • Anonymous says:

      So true!!!
      Next time make them a little larger so I can move in and run my business out of one. Rent free on 7-mile.

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