A fifteen-year dream by an Anguillian national of a tourism project, called Etasian Resort, is now coming to fruition in Anguilla. The ground-breaking ceremony at the site, located on ten acres of land between the Anguilla Great House and CuisinArt Resort and Spa, was held on Tuesday this week, February 2.

L-R: Hon. Victor Banks, Mrs. Viney-Gumbs and CM Fleming

The Anguillian developer is Mrs. Dillis Viney-Gumbs who commutes between her residence at Little Harbour and the United Kingdom. The project will feature modern versions of traditional Anguillian buildings and will aim at achieving 100 percent in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). It is expected to be completed in 24 months.

Elevation of the Arrivals Building

Outgoing Chief Minister, Osbourne Fleming, said he was happy that despite the world-wide economic situation there were people who still had confidence in Anguilla and in its prosperity. He was particularly delighted that the project was locally-owned and said he was informed that the design drawings would be approved by the Physical Planning Department the following day, Wednesday.

Section of the invited guests

He pointed out that the reason for the quick approval was that a lot of the preliminary work had been done and that the Planning Department was very pleased with the cooperation it had received from Andrew Davies who would be leading the project. He stated that Mrs. Viney-Gumbs had requested the Government to proceed quickly with her proposed project. “Though it may appear that this was purposely done at this time of the year, there is no truth to that,” the Chief Minister explained, referring to the current election campaign. “The process took us to where we are today. Our endeavour is to bring development to Anguilla as long as we are in office.”

He noted that with its wooden design, the project would be completely different from other projects in Anguilla and would provide safer accommodation in terms of possible earthquakes, but he was happy that there was a mixture of concrete and wooden structures on the island. “Needless to say that we want to wish the proprietors of this project success which will only come with the cooperation of all Anguillians,” he went on. “When this project is being built and is finished, it will provide work for a lot of people in Anguilla.” He commended the Anguillian developer, on behalf of the people and Government of Anguilla, for taking the bold step during these difficult times when money was hard to get, although he saw no difficulty with this project. He assured the developer of Government’s support during the construction and operation of the resort.

Estate House Front

Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Tourism, Victor Banks, congratulated Mrs. Viney-Gumbs and family for delivering the project which promised to be an exceptional and very special one in the Rendezvous Bay area. “The Government of Anguilla has been very conscious of the importance of local Anguillian investors being involved in participating in our development,” he continued. “That is why during the peak of interest in Anguilla, as a destination for this kind of tourism development, we placed a moratorium on expansion of large hotel projects by foreign investors. The idea was to give Anguillian landowners, entrepreneurs and investors an opportunity not only to catch up, but to equally match the kind and quality of accommodation which has been brought to Anguilla for many years by a number of investors from outside Anguilla. I think this fits very well with what we are trying to achieve. The Gumbs’ family in Rendezvous Bay has also been pioneers in this industry for many years and they must be commended. Their project, the Rendezvous Bay Development Project, is still one we are looking forward to; but on this occasion we have to celebrate with Dillis for being able to deliver this project particularly at this time of challenge.” Mr. Banks believed that the project, with its Caribbean architectural style, would be a special addition to the kind of tourism accommodation architecture surrounding the island’s beaches. He added that the many persons at the ceremony were proud of the local ownership of the project.

Mr. Davies, the director of the project, described Etasian Resort as follows: “The project will comprise twelve cottages, four condominium buildings with a mixture of two and three bedroom apartments with a maximum of 200 bedrooms. We will have tennis courts, a full treatment spa, restaurant and all the amenities you would expect in a six-star resort. The construction of the buildings will be in timber frame in a very typical Caribbean style. We are aiming to be 100 percent self-sufficient and attain certified accreditation. With regards to employment in the operations, post construction, we would expect to be employing around 150 people, two thirds being full-time…and, of course, we will be looking to Anguillians to sort out labour as our first stop. During construction, we would also like to instigate a youth training scheme where young men and young women of Anguilla can come down and learn with a mentor various trades and construction processes, and would hopefully take that knowledge away and develop the island themselves.”

Mr. Banks and Mr. Andrew Davies

Mrs. Viney-Gumbs thanked everyone for attending the ground-breaking ceremony. In her brief statement, she said: “As the grand-daughter of [the late] John Richard Gumbs of The Valley, I am very proud to stand here today realising a 15-year dream. I am building this development in typical Caribbean style to reflect my heritage, and also to try to give something back to the country of my mother’s birth – Anguilla, the jewel of the Caribbean.”

The ground-breaking was performed by developer Mrs. Viney-Gumbs, Chief Minister, Mr. Fleming and Mr. Banks.

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