August 26, 2007

The Editor
The Anguillian

Sir,

Access to Beaches

I applaud the letter from Violet Berry in The Anguillian last week.The points are all well made and I do hope that our government has taken note and proposes to take action and soon.We all have the right to enjoy our beaches but are progressively being prevented from doing so. What will our children have left?

Violet asks if anyone really knows what is happening to the beaches. Many people know and say nothing. Others know but it suits their purpose to do nothing. Also the question was asked who negotiates for Anguillians right to enjoy the beaches. It appears that no one presently is protecting the rights of Anguillians. It is also clear that no one in the past has protected this right.With effective legislation there is no call for negotiation.There is the Physical Planning Act 2001.This act requires the minister responsible, in this case the Chief Minister, to ensure that the Department for Physical Planning formulates a development plan for approval in Council. Part of this plan would deal with protection of and access to the beaches. This plan is not in place. Nothing has been done. It is necessary that our government do something urgently.With proper and adequate legislation, and a development plan in place, there would be no need to negotiate. “Do planners still depend on out of date maps..?”The answer is most deﬁnitely yes, there is no plan. Or it may be more accurate to say that there are no planning maps established in law and so planners are obliged to work ad hoc.The ﬁnal authority is of necessity the Chief Minister.What we have now is inconsistency and the frustration of people’s hopes and rights. Our government must be able to see the political damage that they are doing to themselves. Or do they not care, are they so conﬁdent of re-election? If they are I can only say that we get what we deserve when we elect them.

In planning and legislating we should ensure, among other things, that there is public access to ALL beaches. If land owners by their very development deny access they should be required to re-establish it. ALL land owners that is. If you have the privilege of a beach front property you also have an obligation to permit the public to enjoy their legal rights.What sort of access? Car parking is essential in some form.The access must be clear and unhindered so that people do not injure the right of the land owner to enjoy his property. In the event of a medical emergency on a beach there should be ambulance access. Can any one think of other requirements? See also the draft Open Space Policy.

The message is to our government, and it is this, please plan and legislate with urgency and apply the legislation with ﬁrmness of purpose and with a reliable consistency for our protection.

On the matter of the dolphins, I was pleased to hear on the radio that an environmental impact assessment will be carried out. I was most concerned however by my understanding that the developer would be responsible for the assessment. Please tell me that I am wrong. It is essential that the government employ and pay the consultant, and the consultant should report only to the government. In addition, the terms of reference for the study should be established by the government. To do otherwise would be to surrender all to the developer who could then produce whatever results he liked. It would seem to me that the Chief Minister can ill afford to give his critics further ammunition.

Bill Grandﬁeld

(bill grandﬁeld@yahoo.com)

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