Up Front
No Appeal to Ritz
In a recentmeeting the executive council of National Trust for the CaymanIslands decided not to appeal the decision of the Central PlanningAuthority (CPA), which gave the green light for the eastern sideof he Ritz-Carlton project on Seven Mile Beach under subject tocertain conditions on the 29th of January.
An artists renderingof the proposed Ritz Carlton project
In a press release issued on Wednesday,7 February by Mrs. Barrie Quappe, Executive Director of the Trust,it states: "After much thought and discusion, the Councildecided that, on balance, it was more beneficial to be in a positionto speak more freely about the issues surrounding the appealsthan to be locked into another legal process which, would preventthe Trust from publicly addressing its cocerns regarding thisdevelopment. It was decided, therefore, not to appeal the CPA'sdecision."
The statement continued that the Trust Councilwas advised by their legal counsel, Mr. Piere Lamontagne, QC,that they did have grounds for another appeal, wich the Trustwould likely win.
Mrs. Julene Banks, the new Vice-Chairpersonfor the Trust presented the view of the membership by asking therhetorical questions "Why is the National Trust continuingto object to this development after three years? The mngroveshave already been destroyed. What's the use?", the releasesaid.
"Mrs. Banks went on to state that "thevoice of the National Trust has been validated and its duty tomake itself heard in certain matters involving development ofland in the Cayma Islands has been confirmed in the Grand Court.She also pointed out various reasons why the proposed developmentis undesirable from the viewpoint of the National Trust, saying,"The CPA was reminded of its duty to ensure that a carefulbalance is struckbetween what is a valuable natural feature andwhat is desirable development. The CPA was also provided withan aerial video showing re-generation of the mangrove after oneyear of being left undisturbed."
Efforts to reach Mr. Michael Ryan the CEOof thecompany undertaking the development of the Ritz project,were unsuccessful up to press time.
Cayman Net News spoke to Mr. David Foster,OBE, the president of the Cayman Islands Chamber of Commerce,who said he "thought the Trust's decision not to the apealthe was a wise move. This will enable the Trust to create dialoguerather than to fight it out in court and this will be more beneficial."
"Obviously if done properly I thinkthis project will have tremendous effect to the country's economy.It will ut money into the government's coffers. It should alsogive a much needed boost to tourism and will open up opportunitiesfor Caymanian who are trained in the tourist industries.
"Of-course this is subject to the Ritz/Carltoncomplying with the conditios of the CPA and the Department ofEnvironment," he added.
The NationalTrust provided a comprehensivepresentation to the CPA on 10 January 2001. It included an independentstatement from Cayman's youth, supported with over 100 signatures,which was readinto the record by Grace Gealey. An excerpt fromthis states that "We the youth of the Cayman Islands wouldlike to bring our concerns about the Ritz-Carlton developmentproject to your attention."
Amongst their list of concerns they stated:"The mangroes help protect our islands from natural disasterslike flooding and hurricanes. The mangroves act as a filter, whichkeeps our waters crystal clear. The roots of the mangroves actas a nursery for many species of wildlife both land and sea."They concludd that "We, as future leaders of these islandsask that your take our views into consideration when you makeyour final decision on this issue.
The Council stated its determination tocontinue in its advocacy role by monitoring compliance with theimportnt conditions imposed by the CPA for this 300 million dollarproject.