A quick update on the proposed boatyard
Many of you have expressed disgust at the proposal to put an industrial boatyard in the mangroves at the top of Mt Hartman Bay. Mangroves will be destroyed, the seabed dredged and piled, the marine environment of the whole Bay will be devastated with chemical contamination from boat repair including run off of aquatic poisons as old antifouling is removed from hulls. Our government agencies responsible for agriculture, fisheries, environment and climate have all registered problems that this boatyard will create. If Grenada really needs another boatyard, (which is doubtful) this is not a suitable location.
We have now submitted an application for judicial review to the Court. This aims to have the planning consent quashed. We claim that the decision to grant planning consent was unlawful because:
- The Authority failed to give any reasons for not imposing conditions on the permission that limited the removal of mangroves and required the replanting of mangroves, contrary to the recommendations of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Climate Resilience and the Environment
- It was irrational not to impose such conditions
- The Authority failed to give any reasons for not imposing other conditions recommended by the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Climate Resilience and the Environment that would have mitigated the impact of the development
- The Authority had a duty at common law to consult on the proposal, and failed to carry out a legally adequate consultation.
Meanwhile we are trying to persuade the new Planning and Development Authority to revoke the consent. They can do this without having to pay compensation because the developer has already violated the conditions under which the consent was granted including not installing silt nets to prevent silting of the sea during land clearance, failure to produce a vegetation removal and recovery plan as required, and failure to prevent dust and air pollution during the clearing of vegetation. Revocation by the Authority would avoid us continuing with legal action.
The decision by the Authority of whether to revoke is undoubtedly involving the Attorney General too. We have offered to meet with the Authority together with the AG to try to resolve the situation.
We think that taking this decisive action of revoking the consent would send a powerful and welcome signal that things have changed and the new Authority is now using its powers to see that things get done properly, in conformity with the law and in the public interest. There have been too many questionable approvals in the past.
If anyone wants to hear more detail at this point, let us know.
Finally, we are planning to prepare a local physical plan for L’Ance aux Epines and surrounding lands. This will designate the uses permitted on all land parcels including conservation and any limits or constraints on building type and form etc. We will look to have this approved by the Planning and Development Authority and made into law under S. 10-15 of the Physical Planning and Development Act 23 of 2016.
If you can assist in this including helping with planning, conservation, mapping, graphics, using Google Earth etc., please step forward! If this is a success, we would look to supporting other community groups in other parts of Grenada to develop their own plans.
Coral Cove Group
contact@coralcovegrenada.org