Hotelier and head of tourism body queries benefits of proposed development for the Gap; MP to ‘represent’ the views’

By Marlon Madden

Nonsensical, is how Chairman of the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) Renee Coppin has described plans for a marina in the St Lawrence Gap area.

Coppin, who operates a hotel in the vicinity, told a meeting earlier this week that she believed there were several other areas across the island where the planned development could take place.

Questioning why officials were seeking to bring development to the area, which residents and experts argue could have dire consequences for what remains of the Chapman wetland, Coppin said “This is one of the most nonsensical things I have ever seen presented.”

Addressing the Monday meeting, which was organised by Loretta Duffy-Mayers of the Dover and St Lawrence Concerned Citizens Group and jointly chaired with Parliamentary representative for the area Ralph Thorne, Coppin joined residents in voicing concerns and disapproval for the proposed project.

She called on officials to say why “The Gap” was chosen. She also wanted an explanation of how the planned development will benefit the communities and what would be its environmental impact.

“This area is both congested and prone to flooding, and the reality is that this proposal to me seems that it will actually cause both of those things to worsen. So the question of why is really a critical question. All of us have to ask ourselves and we have to ask Government to answer before any plan is made to do what I am seeing being proposed, is done,” said Coppin.

“There are so many other areas in Barbados where this kind of facility exists naturally and where the investment can be made more sensibly. Bridgetown would be one of them,” said the owner and operator of two south coast hotel properties.

Adding that she saw “very little benefits” from what was being proposed for the St Lawrence Gap area, Coppin added “I am really baffled as to why we want to place a marina in this area and what it will really lend to our tourism product.

St Lawrence is a very special area and Barbados is a very special country.”

Last September, it was revealed that a privately-led St Lawrence Harbour Village development was planned for a section of the popular tourist belt area.

While project officials have given the assurance that should the development be approved the mangroves and environmental features would be protected, residents in and around the area have flatly rejected any notion of it going ahead.

During the meeting this week, several residents from St Lawrence, Maxwell, and Dover areas recalled when the swamp was teeming with life as they shared childhood memories of going by the location to pick fruits and just ‘hang out’.

Calling on authorities to find a way to restore and protect the wetland, they dismissed the planned development, insisting that it was not needed. Some suggested that the residents and business operators in the area should speak out more against it.

All those in attendance showed by hand their disapproval of the development moving forward.

Environmental planner and conservationist Lani Edghill said she believed the Chapman swamp could be enhanced to contribute to the island’s tourism product. She expressed concern that the swamp lands across the island were not being properly cared for.

“It is important not just to our own ecosystem and all of the functions that we talk about, but also it’s critical as an automatic flyway for birds and it is something that we can use to our own benefit as well as the benefit of our tourism product,” said Edghill.

Residents also questioned if an impact assessment study would be done and made public, as they also expressed concern about a plan by government to acquire lands in the area.

Member of Parliament for the area Ralph Thorne, while welcoming the views of the residents, said he was not aware of an application or permission being granted for the proposed marina project or any approved acquisition by Government of land in the area.

However, he urged residents to “stay united” and speak out on issues that were affecting them.

“I have no problem with a dissenting voice on any issue. I don’t mind your protests….

Sometimes we need to protest. If we don’t have protests we stagnate.

“You have my assurance this evening that I will represent the views of the people who live, work and recreate here when the time comes,” he pledged.

Thorne said, “It is community organisations like this that will send a message to government as to how strongly the community feels about a matter that affects the lives of people who live here, people who have been here for generations, people who do business here and people who recreate here.”
(marlonmadden@barbadostoday.bb)