Aqua Bay $60M 10 storey revamp gets greenlight
(CNS): A revised planning application by condo owners at Aqua Bay on Seven Mile Beach to redevelop the small condo complex into a 10 storey tower cut the proposed height just enough to meet regulations. The project described by objectors as an “ill-conceived monstrosity” has been given the greenlight from the Central Planning Authority which dismissed all of the other concerns raised by the dozens of objectors, despite the obvious and significant change it will bring to the quieter and less dense northern end of the beach.
The CPA said that the project complies with the 1997 plan, which the objectors pointed out was woefully out of date and an inadequate guide for modern day conditions. But the said the objectors had not persuaded the authority that any of the myriad concerns presented had merit.
“The Authority is satisfied that the layout, scale and massing of the development are compatible with the ecological, aesthetic and other physical characteristics of the site and that a high quality of design and landscaping are and will be used,” the CPA said according to the minutes of the October meeting when the project was reconsidered.
Even though the finished product – a glass and steel tower – will look nothing like the current low rise condo complexes around it as the size and scale is far bigger than anything nearby, the CPA said the proposed development didn’t represent over-development of the site. The authority said it complies with all minimum required setbacks even though it granted a variance for additional apartments.
The CPA also stated that the project complies with the minimum high water mark setbacks and the “proposed development will ensure that it is designed to avoid interference with natural coastal processes.” But the department of the environment has been warning for years that the highwater mark setbacks in the now 27 year old plan are massively insufficient to deal with the changing dynamics of the beach and the impact of climate change.
Many of the places built on the southern end of Seven Mile Beach had substantial beach fronts when they were built in the 1990s but today have no beach at all.
The precedent setting project, a major redevelopment of the existing three storey complex built some 35 years ago, is on the last remaining tranquil stretch of Seven Mile Beach which has not yet succumb to the serious beach erosion problems. But this approval of the application could be the beginning of the end for this much loved and more appropriately developed stretch of the beach.
In its reasons from granting planning permission and effectively dismissing all of the objections the CPA said it was of the view that they did not raise sufficient ground for refusing permission and accused them of making “several inflammatory and hyperbolic statements”.
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Category: Local News
Is this newly approved project endorsing the ‘managed retreat’ ideal? Nope. No retreat at all, managed or otherwise.
I wish for a CPA that wasn’t owned by outside entities.
continue the destruction of seven mile with concrete towers. You literally cant even see the water after passing the waterfront. I hope the next set of elected government (all new faces hopefully) will reign in the planning department and issue and investigation into how this mess is allowed to continue.
I hope it wont be more of the same, because im ready to vote you out every 4 years.
LTD Da Unboozler
Very Nice !!!
It is obvious that any new buildings have to be higher and higher. The space on Grand Cayman is limited and we have to keep some land for trees, birds, animals and farmland. I just wish these new buildings were built further from the sea, say 200 feet. Our land scape is no longer one of the Island Time Forgot. And unless we put a moratorium on new immigrants and less reliance on increased stay over tourism, we can expect more older building to be rapidly demolished. We cannot live in the past, but we could do a better job planning and preserving the land and trees that we have left, so that the plants and animals can continue to live and us humans can feel like we live in a natural world and not a concrete jungle.
total non-story…precedent set elsewhere so it was always going to get approval.
private land and private development that has followed all planning laws and regulations. nothing more to be said.
Excellent. Another glass and steel tower. Very much in keeping with the Caribbean landscape.
go to the brac…you will love it there…(for a few hours)
But…it’s the only way building setbacks from the ocean to reduce beach scouring can be achieved.
so glad the objectors didnt get what they want. congrats on wasting money to hire a lawyer and even go to the extent of flying in from overseas to object. these dinosaurs will be dead when the new building will be finished anyway. congrats to Mr. Butler.
Which one is next??
Luguna del Mar? Regal Beach?