Prime Minister Mia Mottley says a full environmental impact study must be conducted before any construction can begin on the proposed 15-storey Hyatt Hotel on Bay Street, St Michael.
In fact, she has already made it clear to the investors that they should proceed with the environmental impact study regardless of the outcome of the court case brought by social activist and attorney-at-law David Comissiong.
“We have said to them that as far as we are concerned you will be tied up in court for the longest time if you don’t do the studies, so you have a commercial decision to make. You could as well do the studies because you the run the risk that the court may say that the studies are necessary and that left to me I would advise you to do the studies. Get them out of the way, if there are issues that preclude it then you know up front, if there are issues that can be addressed but allow you to proceed with the investment then you know up front.”
The construction of the mega hotel project has been stalled since Comissiong filed a judicial review against the decision by former Prime Minister Freundel Stuart to approve an application for permission filed by Mark Maloney to construct the hotel on beachfront on the Bay Street without an environmental impact assessment (EIA).
In response, Stuart filed a lawsuit challenging Comissiong’s right to bring the case but in December last year Supreme Court Justice Sonia Richards ruled in Comissiong’s favour.
Prime Minister Mottley, who was speaking during an interview with veteran journalist David Ellis this evening, maintained that if the Government had conducted the necessary studies there would have been no basis for a court case.
She said the EIA would entail a social impact assessment, a heritage impact assessment, as well as an analysis of the impact of sewage from the project, given the current problems at the Bridgetown Sewerage Plant.
“And then also the impact of piling, depending on the height of the building and what will be the impact of on the church [Bethel Methodist Church] and the Empire Theatre and so on. So those things have to be done and have to be done quickly.”
She also noted that the Harbour Police site was a critical part of the development and has proposed that “30 to 35 per cent of the investment be made available to the Barbadian public so they too can participate in the investment”.
Sounds like extortion to me.
I hope they hurry up and build the hotel and fix up the Empire theater so that many people get some work.
A HOTEL is needed in the CITY of BRIDGETOWN. Only problem is parking space at the plant.
Folks: This is a “stalling exercise”. The project need to be done.
So why should PM MIA and the BEES STALLED the construction ?from where I understand the PM is coming from and in order to go forward,that environmental study MUST be done..because what would stop someone from YOUR camp getting in the way to let it remain STALLED ?
The EIA was not the only issue according to commission, there was also the issue of the height of the hotel being 15 story’s which he said should be 5 story’s
The EIA is the topic at the moment.
Imagine this government asking Barbadians to tell them where to make the deductions for fiscal adjustments needed.
When I said these people didn’t have a clue, some people doubted me, but it’s crystal clear now that they don’t. They should first reduce these ministers within the ministries, state transfers to some of these statutory corporations, reintroduce deductions to parliamentary salaries and senior civil servants.
Then they can address the contributions for public services.
Well if i was the investors i would fight this govt tooth and nail for any monies lost during the stalling period and move on
The Hyatt issue has many other problems and which is gonna cost the investors more money in the long run
Closed shop and move on
Barbados has evolved into a banana republic where the country interest is secondary to the politician interest
Well done Mia and Commi. Don’t be like Stuart who was willing to get run over, roll over and wag. All u lot can stop condoning, sidelining, dodging, evasion, avoidance etc, that is the least anyone can do.
Remnants of that DAMN LYING PARTY here on BT still in election mode…wonder if they are sending their comments from HELL.
It has now dawn on sticks and stones and his entourage of SEWAGE that Bdos has been reduced to a banana republic after 72 % of Bajans had already deduced that since May 25th and sent DEM packing with georgie bundles in hand to the bosoms and bowels of George Street.
After that landslide had swept DEM off the POLITICAL LANDSCAPE of Bdos,that pending IMPLOSION next munt at Party Headquarters is going to be preceded by a FREE FOR ALL CUSS OUT EXTRAVAGANZA at the SAME venue where women gine be cussing and getting cuss too.
Pity Stuart wasn’t prepared to follow the law and do an IEA. I wonder why?
Sherlan Springer