Tag: National Conservation Council
CPA decision ‘perfectly proper’, argues lawyer
(CNS): Sir Jeffrey Jowell KC told the Cayman Islands Court of Appeal Wednesday that a Central Planning Authority decision to grant planning permission for the redevelopment of a wall and a cabana on Boggy Sand Beach was “perfectly proper”. As Jowel opened the CPA’s appeal against a judicial review finding, he argued that the experts […]
Non-profit stops efforts to control feral cats
(CNS): The Department of Environment’s feral cat control project has been stalled again by local animal rights charity Feline Friends as the Grand Court has granted a stay on the rollout of the National Conservation (Alien Species) Regulations. The non-profit organisation has run both a feeding and a trap-neuter-release programme on Grand Cayman for feral […]
100+ acres of natural habitat already at risk this year
(CNS): Since the start of this year, the Central Planning Authority has heard applications for development projects and sub-divisions that threaten well over one hundred acres of primary natural habitat, including mangroves. Despite mounting public support for conservation and significant concerns that development is destroying the environment, in less than two months the CPA has […]
NHDT plans to develop land picked for conservation
(CNS): The National Housing Development Trust is seeking planning permission via an application from the Lands and Survey Department for a 54-lot subdivision on Austin Conolly Drive, East End, on four parcels of crown land, part of which has been nominated to be a protected area. The nearly 20-acre site includes Sunrise Cottage, a retirement […]
Consultation shows surge in public support for conservation
(CNS): The recent nomination process for protected areas represented “a whole new level of public interest” in the conservation of Cayman’s natural habitat, according to Fred Burton, manager of the Department of Environment (DoE) Terrestrial Resources Unit. He said that there were 89 nominations to protect dozens of locations on all three islands, which is […]
New rules rolled out to control alien species
(CNS): New regulations have been approved by Cabinet to protect native and endemic plants and animals under the National Conservation Act. The National Conservation (Alien Species) Regulations introduce a prohibited species list, outline the distinctions between domestic and feral animals and define permitted procedures and actions to control feral animals and other alien species, reducing […]
Quarry posing threat to wildlife pond will need EIA
(CNS): The National Conservation Council has confirmed that an environmental impact assessment will be required for a quarry application made by Krock Limited because it poses a threat to the protected area of Meagre Bay Pond in Bodden Town. Department of Environment (DoE) Director Gina Ebanks-Petrie said that a much better understanding of the terrestrial […]
Critically endangered plant protection approved
(CNS): Cabinet has approved a species protection plan for the critically endangered Aegiphila caymanensis, an endemic plant that is unique to Grand Cayman, now only found in three known locations across the island with just fourteen confirmed surviving specimens. Also known as the spirit vine, it is a woody, clambering shrub with soft, downy leaves […]
$2M EIA contract awarded to US engineers
(CNS): A US engineering company, Whitman, Requardt & Associates LLP based in Maryland, has won the contract to conduct the environmental impact assessment for the controversial part of the East-West Arterial Extension from Woodland Drive in Bodden Town, through the critical Central Mangrove Wetlands, to Frank Sound in North Side.
CPA sticks by NCC order over turtle lights
(CNS): The Central Planning Authority has said it is obligated to follow a National Conservation Council direction to find that a condition of planning approval for turtle-friendly lighting at a proposed luxury beachfront house in Rum Point had not been met. During its meeting last week, the CPA said the recent court ruling meant they […]
NCC and CPA facing another potential battle
(CNS): The Central Planning Authority and the National Conservation Council might be engaged in yet another dispute over the council’s powers to curtail unsustainable development. This time, in one of only five projects where the NCC has issued a directive, the pending conflict is over a developer’s failure to submit an adequate turtle-friendly lighting plan […]
