Activists’ beach access case remains stalled
Beach access sign on Grand Cayman
(CNS): Efforts by a local group of activists trying to push government into registering a number of beach access points around Cayman before they are lost forever remain stalled, as the court has still not responded to their appeal against a legal aid refusal last month. A new batch of documents was posted this weekend on the website Cayman Beach Watch outlining the issues that the group, Concerned Citizens, has over the government’s refusal to register these important access points.
The government has now established a land commission, which will be examining the problem, but while at least one official member of Concerned Citizens was appointed to that new board, the activists are still concerned that the government is dragging its heels on this issue, as a result of pressure from land owners.
A spokesperson for the group said this weekend that until the campaigners get legal aid, they have no money to fund the legal action needed to take government to the court to force its hand and address the issue, which has won broad support in the community.
The group is seeking to protect and register hundreds of the public’s long used rights of way to the beach, foreshore, canals and the sea around the island, as they believe developers will continue to block and take away this access.
Category: Local News
A Land Commission? Hmmmmmmm. How many members? How selected? How paid? Or will it be voluntary work? Who will they report to? Will reports be made public, and when? What terms of reference given?
This must be a transparent operation, or else what?
“For the Record”, Mr “OC”, please invite Mr Joe and Miss Julliana to discuss. Now That would be interesting.
Perhaps we are just so conditioned to Politicians doing nothing and then barking up the wrong tree, that we didn’t notice the landscape had changed.
For any circumstance where a Minister or Governmental Department has failed to serve the public interest, whether those be in regards to FOI stonewalling, or specific maladministration or performance complaints, they ought to be filed with the Ombudsman Office, per the Ombudsman Law 2017.
Sandy Hermiston, the first Ombudsman posted for a seven year term, began in September 2017 and is in charge of of a team that is responsible for following up and protecting the public interest. By my reckoning, if she’s not already the hardest working person in the Cayman Islands, she ought to be – correcting decades of inaction and combatting a culture of widespread unaccountability across Cayman’s number one employer.
http://www.gov.ky/portal/page/portal/cighome/pressroom/archive/201708/First%20Ombudsman%20Appointed
http://www.gov.ky/portal/pls/portal/docs/1/12408391.PDF
There is nothing worse than purchasing a high end condo and then having riff-raff misconducting themselves feet from one’s balcony. There needs to be much better protection of property owners’ privacy and proper restrictions on where people can and cannot go.
It’s always wise of course, to check out your proposed investment for matters such as this before you buy?
The mentality of the owners is just sickening. Every person in these three islands should enjoy the beach. Gabby said, ” the beach is mine, I can enjoy it any time”, just be respectful, civil and courteous to one another.
Our problem begun, when the not so genious MLA changed the beach from the vegetation line to the high water mark.
There are public areas where non-owners can go and not interfere with others’ privacy.
Exactly. Such restrictions may have saved us from you.
6:12. I am sorry to say it but you are so correct.
We need to modify the MLA eligibility criteria prior to next election, to expand the universe of alternatives. Eliminate the Party affiliation requirement. The narrow margins of victory last May illustrate how tired the public has grown of the status quo.
Also worth noting that disproportionately high Postal and Mobile Votes seem to have really made the difference for some:
https://portal.elections.ky/files/downloads/ge2017/COUNT-FOR-COMMAND-CENTER-%202017.pdf
Why has government after government refused to deal with this issue? It would seem very straight forward to resolve and then move on and deal with something else.
There is something missing here.
Receipts of money changing hands…
Because once you resolve the straightforward beach access routes (road to sea) you then walk into the difficult to resolve ‘where on the beach can I sit?’, i.e., where does private property end and ‘public right of access’ begin? question.
Not one piece of sand on the beaches should belong to anybody. The only folk who should have exclusive use of and access to all beaches is EVERYBODY!
typical ppm… the do nothing government.
If the third word vendors were removed from the public beach , we would all have our beach back to enjoy rather than having to go through narrow access between buildings.
Give us back our public beach that has been hijacked by hawkers from neighboring island.
Amen
Amen
This is a mess. Government allows the beach vendors to operate from public property without paying rent and the result is that there is no room on the beach for any locals. I’m pretty sure only cruise shippers and other tourists are renting those chairs. Get them off our beach.
Face it, you have been sold out by your politicians.
Moses
yep ppm did nothing about the vendors either…
Thank you. This is an atrocity! And Our Goverments solution to the problem?…drum roll…license the beach vendors. You can’t make this stuff up!
To be honest the alternatives are no better.
I bet that if about 2,000 of the voters from West bay to East end all marched to the LA Building and gave them politicians a demand to have the public beaches access sorted out permanently before the end of 2018 , then you will see action . The people of C.I need to rise and show the Government their strength before the next Election .
Very true, now the job is to find those 2,000 Caymanians who actually still have a backbone with the fortitude to fight against Government, to claim and defend against them taking away that which is rightfully theirs.
If you are willing to be identified as one of the 2,000 Caymanians who still have a backbone, then send an email to caymanbeachwatch@gmail.com
Your Great Great Grandchildren will thank you.
Please give more information on this caymanbeachwatch@gmail.com
I rarely send anything to a random email address even with a promising name like caymanbeachwatch
Kindly tell us more!
I e-mailed you! I will be counted. Tired of us just being walking mouth pieces.
Do not forget the march against the east end harbour. Please, please get it together fot the next sitting of the LA. I cannot organize it but I will march
Don’t forget the march to oppose pointless marches!
This doesn’t just apply to Caymanians. This impacts everyone who is residing or visiting these Islands and wants to go to the beach.
Gutless, spineless, and somehow under the thumb of beachfront owners, and developers. This issue is not going away, and could prove very embarrassing to CIG.
This should be a no brainer. Secure those beach access. I don’t understand why the Govt. is dragging their feet. Save what we have left and pass the legislation. Unna have children and grand children too. It’s time to have a vision of our future.
Only after Dart as secured all the ocean front they want, made necessary changes to existing and pending right of ways , will new ones be registered. We keep forgetting who is in charge now.
The Dart organization has done so much to make Cayman great please give them respect
Your problem is that you are going to have to prove each of those historic accesses. Good luck with that.
These activist should focus their efforts on taking back the West Bay Road Public Beach for all Caymanians and residents.
They tried when it mattered and did not have enough support from the people.
If the activists were to send a list of people supporting the approach by electoral district to CIG, it may magically affect the speed of progress on the issue. Although given the vested interests perhaps not – 20121 probably seems awfully far away to MLAs at this point
Nothing wrong with optimism, but let’s not pretend that the CIG isn’t already aware of this issue, and the public opinion on it
They know exactly what they are doing
Yes, Government is paying back Dart for all of his “Contributions” by doing whatever he instructs them to do.
Don’t worry, I am sure the LA will address this issue,
after the 2021 election
You still won’t be elected then amigo.
Haven’t run in the past, have no intention to run
I am a Left leaning progressive (not PPM “progressive” an actual progressive)
It would be a cold day in hell before I got elected in Cayman
Not that I have any intention to sell my soul to get elected to the LA
No thanks
Diogenes
Please let us know how I can help. This is foolishness. We shouldn’t have to fight to fighting to swim on our own beaches.
Barbajan, people sorted out the same problem very quickly and peacefully.
This is true. When Barbados had similar problems in the past with people building on and blocking beach access, their government initially did nothing. But the Bajans made it known they wanted their beach access back by quietly protesting on the beaches (and pulling down the walls and blockades that had been built) and their government listened.
However it seems to me that we can perpetually complain and point fingers of blame here in Cayman but when it comes to taking positive action, seems nobody can really be bothered.
Come on Cayman!
Send an email to caymanbeachwatch@gmail.com
No tickee, no washee.
Ministers Juliana O’Connor-Connolly and Joey Hew are responsible for the current do nothing atttitude by this government. Like their predecessor in Cabinet one must understand the grip that others hold of this political figures who all lack the intestinal fortitude to do the right things and simply enforce the relevant laws and regulations. Recognizing the prescriptive rights is the starting point that gives everybody the solution but these ministers like the ones before them are compromised.
Why always picking on our wonderful unity team government. All are working so hard and achieving so much. Boy you can not please all the people all the time.
Pass me the troll button I feel sick….
Joey’s Daddy does not want people walking though his yard at WB dock…
Joey Hew’s total lack of action on this issue is terrible. He represents this Seven Mile Beach Area and says nothing and does nothing. Leadership is needed Mr. Hew so get yourself into gear and do something. Earn that big salary.
Leave these true leaders alone. Lets elect honorable Hew aa our next premier
Joey Who? Another useless MLA with delusions of grandeur
You will see as he is our true leader for our country as are the rest of the Unity Team!
If the issue has broad support in the community then surely it should be something the local politicians should be addressing…would it be better to try get the voters in the community to force their elected officials to do something?
If you think public support has anything to do with policies our government get behind you haven’t been paying attention
The only time they give a damn what the voters think is in the 6 months preceding the election
They are counting on the widespread political apathy and partisan divisions in the electorate rather than winning voters with policies and proposals
Diogenes
Voters didn’t choose the eels that slithered and back-stabbed their way to forming this unity abomination last May, but who would replace them? Voters can petition for no-confidence and call another election at any time. However the criteria for eligibility limits the field to something resembling the status quo every try.
Actually voters did vote for these eels. They may not have realized how slippery some of them were, or that former enemies would happily twine together, but every single MLA, whether the Premier or an “independent “ now serving as a councillor or whip, was voted in. Unfortunately we have a small pool of eligible and willing candidates, and a hard core of politically adept operators