Buying land needs to be about conservation, say activists
(CNS): Over the last few years, the Cayman Islands Government has approved the purchase of several beachfront lots to provide access to the islands’ coastline for locals, stay-over visitors and cruise passengers, as development increasingly blocks off Seven Mile Beach and other popular oceanfront areas. However, local activists are calling for public consultation about how that beachfront property should be developed because adding facilities like parking and toilet blocks will not increase the amount of land held for conservation.
Speaking at the Chamber Economic Forum on Friday, Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan said that one of the reasons why the CIG has been purchasing beachfront property in various locations was to enable locals and visitors to have places to go to enjoy the sun, sea and sand without it feeling overcrowded and help with what he sees as sustainable tourism.
The government has been using the Environmental Protection Fund to acquire the beach land, even though this fund is supposed to be used to buy critical habitat or expand the current 11% of protected land across the Cayman Islands to the goal of at least 30%, which the acquired beach does not necessarily do.
Local environmental activist group Sustainable Cayman has said that the process of purchasing beachfront land needs to acknowledge the balance between development for tourism and land protected as space for Caymanians to treasure the islands’ environmental heritage and uniqueness.
“With the government acquiring an estimated 48 pieces of land, we can only be concerned that with just over 11% of terrestrial resources being currently protected under the National Conservation Council, much more important ecosystem services, such as mangroves and endemic foliage, will be lost to development,” the non-profit organisation said in a short statement.
“Development plans for Pease Bay Beach Park appear to feature many environmentally disruptive developmental elements, such as an over 22-ft concrete and decorative stoneground mural of a turtle, which is ironic on beaches where turtles are found to nest, a parking lot designed to accommodate tour bus parking as well as food vendor trucks, a 59-by-29-foot sand volleyball court, and multiple gazebos considerably near to the setback line.”
The activists said they appreciate the addition of areas for recreational camping, solar panel usage on public bathrooms, and particular undisturbed areas of existing vegetation, but this project, by way of example, appears to be more about a commercial hub for cruise ship and stayover tourists than providing beach access to the people of Bodden Town.
“In all my years, not once have I heard locals beg for beach vendors and gazebos at the beach,” said one of the Sustainable Cayman Ambassadors, who pointed out that the lack of natural public beaches is due to unchecked development. The NPO is calling on the government to consider using the space it is acquiring to plant endemic and indigenous plants and fruit-bearing trees.
“While areas like public bathrooms and camping grounds show consideration towards locals, we believe that the other developmental aspects would be better replaced by endemic and indigenous plants, specifically fruit- and vegetable-bearing ones to benefit both locals as well as birds and butterflies, picnic benches for social and community engagement, beachside vegetation to reduce coastal erosion, and a parking lot that does not greatly impact natural vegetation, soil and ecosystems.”
Sustainable Cayman stated that the land and ecosystems of value here should remain as space for the people of Cayman today and future generations to come, as the NPO called for public engagement so that the intentions are clear concerning the acquisition of beach property for the community.
Watch the CIGTV segment on Pease Bay Public Beach below:
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Category: Local News
Cabinet should not enjoy the discretion to sell Crown Land, or hand out 20 year duty and tax waivers to its favorite developers. Where regimes have done this previously, the inheriting have the obligation to keep an accurate ledger for the people, of how much is left in sinking cost giveaways. In the instances where the developer has not delivered on its promised and agreed terms, the land should be expropriated back to the Crown and benefits withdrawn. The Governor and FCO should be actively supervising compliance and stepping-in where necessary to restore ownership. Every application for nominee companies owned and operated by the same non-compliant UBOs, should be treated as though it’s the same recipient party entity, and conflicts in one file should influence consideration of all related applications for that same party, whether or not booked in the same entity name. The land swap charades with public assets needs to stop in 2024.
This government keep spouting the ‘transparency’ cry. Put your money where your mouth is and tell the people who you are buying all this land from. Friends, relatives, and for what price. I was told about one piece that was purchased for way over market value, from a UPM supporter. I wonder Why?
The latest swindle is convincing the general public that a paved beachfront loading zone should be provided to the BoddenTown transshipment industry using public cash. Manse Road landfall gets too much sticky sand in the interior of their Mercedes.
What a pile of crap!! Why can’t you people in charge try to come up with something that will protect our limited land mass instead of destroying? With the amount of over weight persons on this 2×4 Rock why do we need another food truck facility that will only increase calories and garbage? Why do these persons without an iota of vision and genuine care for the local population just keep destroying and tearing down everything they can get their greedy paws on. Please for GOD sake and the sanity of “we the people who really care ” just do not come up with any more hare-brained ideas! You have said and done enough rubbish to last another hundred years.
Crooks wanting to monetise our public spaces and beaches is nothing new. What would be new is a competent investigation into how they pocketed the cash and some arrests. Voters also need to disqualify them from their stations by amending the Elections Law to ban them.
The plans for Pease Bay are awful. This is a pristine area of the island, both on land and in the sea, most likely due to the low impact of human activities thus far.
Public access to the beach is a good thing, but must be done responsibly.
Last Easter the beach was open to the public and a fire got out of control, leading to over half of the vegetation being burned.
The people of Pease Bay and Bodden Town have used this beach for decades. Have they been consulted as to the level of activities that should be encouraged there?
Can DoE please weigh in?
Been disgusting this in mi yard wit mi bredrens and wit all these arguments tis behooves me tat the honorible Dwayne da Rock Seymour needs to take dem bulls by the horns and guide us in his wisdom. Tanks Rock Tanks a lot!
I wonder which friend or family member they are purchasing this land from every time. Nice way to take our money, bail out some land rich, cash poor family member with some positive PR to boot.
they want to save what beach for locals? after selling and giving away all the great prime clean and clear beachs.. from West to east and north to south. all the real great locations are gone and blocked. So we now get the turtle grass and rock filled spotts that they are over paying for to line pockets of friends and realtor buddy’s.
lost for words the madness never stops.
True. Drive by Hurleys at 700pm to 9pm and look at the two developments across the street. See many people or lights on?
Who the blank were these built. Because we surely don’t have enough affordable housing for the locals.
Come see who will get permission to operate on this public beach now….KMT.
Another ploy to acquire land in the name of the people, it should really read “last of the Caymanians”.
Judas-anna refused to increase the stamp duty for foreign buyers. Told the Chamber she ‘heard their cries’.
What now?
Things that make you go ummmmm….
1.Foreign buyers know buying Cayman property is a good investment. No annual property tax. No tax on money made renting your property.
2.Foreign buyers buy property to get PR points.
3. The very rich foreigner buys property in exchange for a 25 yr residency certificate and no work permit fees.
4.Foreigners often buy properti6es in cash.
5.Foreign buyers get better treatment at local banks.
6. Foreign buyers have been driving up property prices out of reach of Caymanians for years.
7. Fifty six (56) LCCLS given for property development between 2017 and 2020 = foreigners outnumber Caymanian developers.
8. Many developers are foreigners.
9. Majority of real estate agents are foreigners.
10. Real estate developers spend big on political campaigns.
11. Real estate developers spend big every Christmas time too.
The writing is on the wall. Foreigners mean more than Caymanians to this Government. Foreigners and real estate developers mean more to Progressives and UPM than Caymanians.
Caymanian voters – how many of you think the stamp duty for foreigners should have been increased?
– A Caymanian Voter.
Agree with you 100 percent.
Not only should stamp duty for foreign buyers increase, but we should limit ability of foreign nationals to buy, similar to Bermuda and Canada.
And IF we don’t limit their ability to buy, we should institute a non-resident property tax – whereby if you don’t live here at least 6 months of the year in your property, you have to pay a non-resident property tax. It would be a drop in the bucket for the millionaires and billionaires buying property here as an investment or to flip.
We need to do away with the property requirement for residence – or increase the value. Low and mid range inventory is scarce, as bought up by expats seeking PR and this has driven prices up – mostly pricing Caymanians out of the property market in our own country.
I do not think there should be an increase in stamp duty for foreigners, I think ” foreigners” should not be allowed to buy up the land. If you are not a Caymanian then you can rent. If and when you are granted Cayman Status then you can purchase land. There should be no toss up between owning land and paying higher stamp duty. No amount of stamp duty should be an alternative to a Caymanian being able to purchase land. If an individual or family owns land and need to sell it to have money to live off and no Caymanian shows interest in buying the land then government should purchase the land and hold it until such time as a Caymanian is interested in purchasing the property. Please leave something for our children and grand children.
name an indiginous fruit tree?
ink berry
Since you ask, hear are a few. Cayman Silver Thatch, Cayman ghost orchid, Cayman Myrmecophila purple and white orchid, Cayman Brac yellow myrmecophila orchid, Little Cayman mymecophila white orchid, to list a few!!!! Let me know if you need more or please go ahead and google ” native trees of the Cayman Islands”. Glad to help you.
Uhh … a ghost orchid is neither a fruit nor a tree. Some help you are!
Mind blowing ignorance. Dumb and dumber from this lot.
I wouldnt worry about cruise shippers for this beachfront. There is no way they are going to bus out cruisers 25 to 40 minutes each way (depending on traffic) to sit on a beach.
They most certainly will once the new hotel is open at Public Beach.
hahahahahahahhahahahha…Caymanians don’t conserve
ACC and AG need to look at the land purchases
Kimpton 2 is almost finished. Looks to me like they are getting ready to move the public beach to BT.
I pray I am not wrong but SMB is being surrounded and gentrified. Just like Saint Lawrence Gap in Barbados.
As predictable as roadside rubbish
Totally agree. leave our beaches alone just give us access to them WITHOUT all the development and definitely NO cruise tours or vendors. Preserve our heritage don’t ruin it… so angry 😡