Found at: http://www.anguillaguide.com/article/articleprint/4398/-1/135/
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Seeking Peace At West End
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Ministers of Government and other officials, residents from West End, two lawyers and a representative of Viceroy met on Monday, February 19, to discuss several problems arising from the construction work at Barns Bay. The matters included complaints about the dust nuisance experienced by a number of persons, public access difficulties and claims of encroachment on private lands.
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Round table discussion of Viceroy's Office
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The meeting followed recent meetings held by the West End Concerned Group and by Government with residents at which the above matters and other complaints relating to different projects and properties were discussed.
This week Monday’s meeting came as the Chief Minister, other Ministers and officials agreed to visit some of the sites to see what the people were complaining about. Their first stop was at the dwelling house of Thomas Carty, downwind and very close to a dirt road which was in constant use by trucks and other heavy equipment on the construction thus filling the home with unbearable quantities of dust. The only brief relief was the occasional sprinkling of the road by a water truck.
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West End residents in solidarity
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Viceroy was represented at the meeting by Director of Construction, Frank Faranda, who, in the absence in the United States of other top officials was unable to deal conclusively with all the matters and concerns which were raised. It was however agreed, at the request of Chief Minister, Osbourne Fleming, that with immediate effect the trucks and other heavy equipment would use a road below Mr. Carty’s house to relieve him and other persons nearby of the dust.
A matter of contention is the road which has been registered as part of the Viceroy/Barns Bay Development Ltd. property, but which the people in West End said was an original public track which should be preserved for use by the public. This is a matter that has to be settled.
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Assembly at Thomas Carty's residence
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Barrister-at-Law Joyce Kentish of Kentish and Associates pointed out that it did not matter whether it was Viceroy or an Anguillian who bought the land with the public track. She said that while the company had title to the land, it was now subject to negotiations to change the situation.
Thomas Carty was represented by Barrister-at-Law Kissock Laing of Harneys, Westwood and Riegels, who had opportunities to speak on behalf of his client. Two couples, Convert and Maureen Carty and Ancel and Ulynis Carty were represented by Ms Kentish of Kentish who put forward their case about dust and other issues. Mr. Faranda produced copies of letters to residents relating to compensation and other matters.
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Cap Juluca's Guard hut
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The residents and their lawyers were of the view that the compensation packages needed to be expanded in that, for example, it was not enough to have only the bedrooms air-conditioned where only limited time was spent during the day. Minister of Finance, Victor Banks, held a similar view saying that Viceroy needed to do more for the people suffering the dust hazard. He said the Government had set a good example to developers by putting air-condition units in every room in the houses affected by dust from the Wallblake Airport extension work. He stated that Viceroy should have done the same including paying the electricity bills of the persons concerned.
Another matter of discussion was public access to the point off Barns Bay, just down from where the former Coccoloba main building was located. The West End residents argued that this had been a traditional area of fishing but was now being denied to fishermen. The meeting explored ways of dealing with this matter, with Ms Kentish strongly calling for an acceptable solution. This is another issue which is still to be addressed.
A matter which was pointed out during the meeting from the Viceroy side was the danger to the public in crossing over areas of land where construction work was being carried out. It is understood that a road way, probably four-feet wide, was being provided to provide access to the point, but the people argue that this would be inadequate.
Though there were serious matters being discussed, the meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere except for occasional outbursts by one individual as he spoke bitterly about the suffering of his mother from the dust hazard. He had to be spoken to repeatedly by some of the leaders of the Concerned Citizens Group.
Mr. Faranda felt that although he could not provide all the answers, he thought the meeting was a productive one. Chief Minister Fleming is hoping that when the next meeting is held on Monday, February 26, that other top Viceroy officials would be able to offer some conclusion to the concerns of the Government and people.
The next stop by the Government and residents was at another Viceroy site east of Foods ‘95 Supermarket where a mound of dirt is dumping dust on the Richardson’s residence below. It was agreed that corrective measures would be taken to address this matter.
The third stop was at Cap Juluca, where concern was expressed over the guard hut and bar recently put in place at the entrance to the property from a Government road. The Chief Minister noted that the security facility was originally placed lower down on the way to the villas which was a good way of looking at the interests of guests. He saw the new security location and the need for persons to stop as a curtailment of public access to the property and in particular the beach and requested its removal.
General Manager, Hans Joerg Maisen and Phyllis Fleming-Banks, noted the complaints and understood the psychological sentiments the guard hut and especially the bar could cause to the public. They pointed out that it was just a matter of ensuring in-house and other security and that members of the public were always free to visit the property and to attend functions. The Chief Minister however insisted that it was better for the perceived hindrance to be removed.