Lashley calls for legal guarantees of access to beach

Former Minister of Housing Michael Lashley KC believes legislation needs to be strengthened to guarantee citizens’ access to all beaches and public areas.

The attorney contends that after repeated incidents of foreign developers trying to restrict citizens’ access to beaches, land acquisition policies must be reviewed.

His comments came in light of the dispute between St Joseph residents and the developer of the old Edgewater Hotel property who has started constructing columns said to be blocking access to the riverbanks on both sides of the Joe’s River Bridge.

Speaking at a Democratic Labour Party joint zonal meeting in Church Village, St Philip on Sunday, he said, “we should be looking at the Land Acquisition Act and even strengthening the Town and Country Planning Department and legislation [so] that if a developer comes into an area it must be mandated that access to any public area should be protected”.

“There should be not only one town hall consultation and all is well; there should be continuous dialogue between the residents and that developer. We should look at implementing some sort of restriction that would say to the Town Planner that when this development is being approved, there should be a term and condition that the public and the residents in the area have continued access to that public space.”

Lashley insisted that beach access must be a right for citizens.

“Barbadians who walk up and down beaches for years, who get their money out of going to the beach and having access to the beach, daily their movements are being restricted because of a certain set of people who are coming into Barbados and acquiring lands. Even [if the] Government acquired lands and gave to a private sector person, even if it is for a public purpose, the residents of that particular constituency should have a right to public access to the beaches. There should be no private beaches in Barbados,” he insisted.

Lashley was adamant that foreign investment should be balanced with citizens’ rights.

“You imagine that you fish up at Skeete’s Bay, fish down Bathsheba, Six Men’s for all your life, you run about all down there, your parents even made a living out of it, and in one fell swoop, a man can walk in from Timbuktu, take over the land, put up a guard wall, put up a fence, and your dreams of letting your grandchildren continue and go down in there [are] gone,” he said.

“We as a Democratic Labour Party have to get up in our engine rooms and develop and craft policies. I support direct foreign investment, but you must also balance that with the rights of Barbadians.” (SB)