Activists press on with campaign against Dart deal
(CNS): The Save Cayman, West Bay Action Committee and the Concerned Citizens Group will be hosting a public meeting on Thursday evening at 7:30pm in George Town on the court house steps to outline the issues relating to the proposed closure of what is now understood to be close to 4,000 feet of the West Bay as well as the proposal to move the landfill to Bodden Town. In opposition to the proposed deal government is negotiating with the Dart Group, PPM member for East End Arden McLean will also be hosting a public meeting in the district Monday evening at 8pm, where he will be addressing that and other issues.
The road closure and proposed landfill move are key elements in the government’s proposed investment deal with the islands' largest developer and investor and are contingent in the plans to develop the former Courtyard Marriott hotel into a five star resort and the further development of Camana bay.
However, the various groups opposing the road closure submitted a petition at the end of last year with some 4,000 signatures opposing the closure, but only days later an agreement was signed with the NRA paving the way for the road swap. Despite the set- back to the campaign, the activists have said they are not giving up their fight to preserve the road and are planning a demonstration outside the Legislative Assembly building during the next meeting, which has not yet been announced.
The three pressure groups based predominately in West Bay are now hoping to extend the campaign to people in other districts and are coordinating their campaign with those opposed to moving the landfill from its present site – the Coalition to Keep BT Dump Free.
For more information contact Truly4Cayman@gmail.com
Category: Politics
For the past 40 years the land on the beach side the West Bay Road has been privately owned.
YES… PRIVATE PROPERTY. That means people have no right to use, walk on or camp on this land. They have a right of access to the beach only through designated access points.
This is same for all lands in the Cayman Islands. Including all the lands owned by the protestors. What are they protesting? Are they suggesting that it their god given right to trespass? In that case I would like to drive my van and camp on their property this Easter. Make a fire in their back yard and leave my trash littered around their home and see what they think about it.
For a country to continue to develop and prosper it needs to find work for the new generations that demand employment. CIG needs to receive income from land duty and import duty. A project of this nature is essential for the future of Cayman and Caymanians.
It is surprising to me that the very people who say they love Cayman want to do so much to harm Caymanians. I get the feeling it is simply sour-grapes towards DART. If this was being done by a prominent Caymanian family there would be no issue.
Stop being prejudice and start being proactive for the future of our country. Because without invest we will all feel the ill-effect of economic decline. Our homes will go down in value. Our jobs will be jeopardy and our livelyhood will be demished.
Am i the only one who recognised that Jackie Doak did not address the most important point raised by Mr. Miller when they spoke on Rooster the other day?
That point referred to the great disparity in $Dollar$ value betweeen what Dart will get and what Cayman will get.
Anyone with limited real estate knowledge can surely realize that the INSTANT increase in value that will occur with regards to both Dart's beachfrontproperty as well as the land he owns along the proposed bypass into West Bay is well into the hundreds of millions of dollars!
This is not even taking into consideration the increase in value of his planned Camana Bay residential development that would benefit enormously as well if the dump is moved.
With all due respect to Dart, whatever he does he does well, my problem is that Caymanians have sold out to him, they have sold their businesses, their land and Government has struck deals to the detriment of the Caymanian people.
When are the Caymanian people going to realise that they have nothing to pass down to their future generations? I hope that it is not too late. Caymanians HOLD ON TO YOUR LAND, DO NOT SELL IT TO FOREIGNERS!! SAVE CAYMAN!! Buy as much land as you can. Money in the bank is not paying you anything you might as well invest it in a piece of land.
CAYMANIANS are becoimng apartment owners and not land owners, the banks offer good deals for first time buyers so take advantage of it and if you do not own a piece of land go out and buy a piece now!!
I would suggest selling every piece of land going – Cayman property prices will be worth 50% of their current value in a decade.
Back in the 1970's many Caymanian's were given land as pasrt of the Cadastral Survey. Land they deemed to worthless was sold to overseas investors. Many Caymanian's prospered.
The beachfront land was of no value to a Caymanian. You couldn't farm on it. Didn;t want to build on it – just incase a Nor'Wester or Hurricane took it away. So they used that land for graveyards or sold it.
Now 40 years on. Many people have come to Cayman – including people of Caymanian heritage that lived in Florida because life was so bad in Cayman – they came back when the foreign investors started investing. They profited handsomely by selling the Cayman Dream.
Now you complain that Caymanians have sold out to DART!!!! Did you even think to consider that the land DART is buying has probably been in foreign ownership ownership for 30-40 years.
Anyone can buy land here! ANYONE. Doesn't matter if you a white, black, brown, purple or orange – even DART can buy land. That's what a free economy and a free country can do.
What you are suggesting is almost Communistic.
STOP DART BASHING – START BEING OPEN MINDED AND RESPECTFUL OF OTHER PEOPLE.
Do-nothing no ideas big spending
Time to move along folks. Nothing to seehere. I’ll join you to protest the idiotic suggested site for a new West Bay cemetery though.
Seriously???
The protesters looking brownie points rising up de people because they intend to field the vocal ones for the next election. And the British at tea smiling saying, see we still rule, divide and conquer still works on the small island people. How lovely is this Tea ole chapi
When was the last time CUC built a road, or anything for anybody? Let's focus on the crime situation, maybe that's something we could start from our own house instead of pointing the finger…
Why would CUC build a road?
Monkey see monkey do
I would prefer that these protesters focus on crime instead of the road for God's sake. Talk about misguided priorities.
So when are you organizing a protest against crime or are you just sitting on your ass criticizing?
Caymanians finally keep the pace upon a very important issue. The more publicity the better. Don't give up the fight, because the minute that road is closed, there are others waiting in the wings to do the same. Pretty soon we won't see a sunset, a cresting wave, or a grain of sand along our seven mile beach.
I note that if you look along the Florida coast line all the high rises and hotels on the beach side have an evenly space between them. This is so that the general public and not feel claustrophobic.
Who is going to stop anyone else from relocating roads to gain more beach land and quadruple their property value, at an astronomical cost to the people of the Cayman Islands.
My condo is now being closed on and that will be the last asset I have in the Cayman Islands. I have lived here for 30 years. I see changes of a negative catastrophic impact for this country on the horizon.
Good luck Cayman people, you will be needing it very soon.
This post does not pass the BS test.
Even if they kill the deal with DART, they should still move that road off the beach. It has got to be the dangerous stip of road in the country. There are so many people walking alongside the road and between cars.
Every time I drive there in the afternoon or late at night, I am afraid someone will walk out in front of my car.
That's so true, lots of people moving between the beach side and the walking out in front of your car. Majority of those doing that are drunken idiots that the Bar allows to leave alone and without any assistance. That bar must take responsibility for their patrons drunkeness.
Furthermore, I come very close to knocking SOBER people down trying to cross the Esterly Tibbetts HWY by Camana Bay. Notice there are no speed limit signs between these round abouts, ask the question why that is? Because they can't post 40mph if they have a large number of pedestrians passing between the lanes daily. With that said, should we relocate the ETHwy from passing through Camana Bay or relocate Camana Bay?
Just last week I nearly killed an elderly couple whom was attempting to cross on the HWY by Gov. Harbour, so should we close that too instead of extend it as we are so desperately told it has to be done at this time??
Some idiots should not have internet access.
I think there have actually been more fatalities on the Harquail Bypass than on that particular strip of West Bay Road so comparitively speaking it's less dangerous.
The original plan was to extend the bypass and have to assess roads to W.B. I do agree that they should have never been allowed to put the bars on the beach with out adaquate off road parking. For yeras I and thers have been asking Gobvernment to reduce the speed limit on West Bay Rd. as it hads proven to be too fast.
We need two roads, not just one new one. We do have a right to enjoy the fact that we live on an Islands. Not just on weekends when may have time to use darts "bicycle path" but as we have for yers and years on our we to and from our homes in West Bay.
But remember Mac said "Cash is King" and we know he more than believes that.
Without Dart, the extension of the Esterley Tibbetts Highway to West Bay won't happen for at least a generation, possibly never. The government can not afford to to pay the people for the land it compulsory required for the East-West Arterial and it certainly can not afford to build the Esterley Tibbetts Highway extension, let alone buy the land from Dart to extend the highway. With the new Framework for Fiscal Responsiblity in place, the next free-spending government that comes along like the PPM will not be able to get projects like that done. So.. you can forget seeing that road built for at least two decades, if not longer. So all you'll have is your two-lane West Bay Road that will get closed by a hurricane one of these days, cutting off West Bay from emergency services. Hopefully, one of your friends or relatives isn't the one who need those emergency services.
Get a grip! the extension of Esterly Tibbitts highway passes directly through Dart's property. in order for him to have access to it he has no other choice than to build the road. Yes our government claims there in no fund in the public purse, but ask yourself the question, if that is true how can they be travelling all over the world claiming they are looking for investers.. where are the investor… do you see them?
We the opposing citizen are simply stating to Dart…Go ahead and build your 5 star hotel but leave our beach alone…
If you were a true citizen of this country you would feel the same way we do…but I guess you fall in the catorgory of people who are only out to rape the country and then move on….
Wise up! Get up and make a stand for what is right and stop looking for the almighty dollar…
Kmanlady— And I am a Caymanian who cares for my country…
Please…. know your facts.
There's already access to the Yacht Club property. That's how people who live there get to it.
Also, since the land Dart bought has lots of road frontage to West Bay Road, Dart could build all the road access he wants. That would really clog up West Bay Road with traffic! I hope West Bay residents are willing to leave for work at 5am!
But, in reality, I don't think Dart needs to build ANYTHING, let along a five-star hotel, on the land he bought from Stan Thomas. Without the road moving, it's just not economically feasible, so he'll just sit on the land for as long as it takes. And that will do the Cayman economy not good at all.
As for your comment… "If you were a true citizen, you'd feel the same way we do"… that's one of the scariest comments you can make and I am proud to disagree with anyone who would make such a unrational comment.
You need to know your facts…if you believe that Dart only owns Yacht Club.
Don't worry about these protestors. There is no time to worry about things like safety when there is a political point to be made.