LAND DISPUTE

Gov’t to compulsorily acquire property if no settlement with Savvy on the Bay owner  By Emmanuel Joseph The Government of Barbados has threatened to compulsorily acquire a portion of land at Bay Street, St Michael owned by businessman Allan Kinch if both parties can’t agree on its purchase by the State. The Government’s position was publicly proclaimed on Wednesday by Attorney General Dale Marshall who said authorities would be calling on Kinch to meet at the negotiating table to settle the matter with the least conflict possible. In response, Kinch said he was shocked at Marshall’s decision to go public on the issue at this stage. The property, which is sandwiched between the old Eye Ward and the Copacabana Beach Bar, is the home of Kinch’s Savvy on the Bay food establishment and several other vendors who rent the land space from him. Some of the vendors have expressed fears of being dislocated and are pushing back against the Government’s plans to turn the area into a car park. However, Marshall is adamant that the Government wants to preserve part of that overall site for the public to have free access as a parking lot. “We are committed to re-acquiring two of three parcels of land at Bay Street that were formerly vacant and freely utilised by generations of Barbadians. Barbadians must not be robbed of that right, and whether car park or otherwise, we are intent on securing those rights for Barbadians. Some things are priceless. “We will be seeking to negotiate with Mr Kinch as a first option. If we cannot reach an agreement, then the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act will be relied upon for the acquisition of the properties and the court will be asked to set the compensation that Mr Kinch will be due, which is also provided for under the Act,” the Government’s chief legal advisor announced. In tracing the background to the land dispute, Marshall noted that the lands were bought by one of Kinch’s companies under a previous administration. However, he said, “from the time this Government came to office, we made it clear to Mr Kinch that we did not share the same approach and that we wanted to preserve part of that overall site for the public of Barbados”. He explained that while the current administration was in no position to stop the sale once it came to office since Kinch had the contractual right to “specific performance” of the contract, “we made it clear that we wanted to go in a completely different direction.” Marshall said these discussions took place before the businessman did any work at Bay Street and he, therefore, “ought not to pretend now to be taken by surprise by our stance”. “What is especially concerning, though, is the fact that every bit of work that Mr Kinch has done on that site has been without the permission of the Planning and Development Office (formerly the Town and Country Planning Department) or without the permission of health authorities,” the Attorney General stated. “We cannot have one set of laws for the Medes and another set for the Persians. Mr Kinch is a very experienced businessman and would have known of the need to have the prior permission of the Planning Office and of the health agencies before embarking on the various works on Bay Street.” He pointed out that the Planning and Development Department had issued an Enforcement Notice as well as a Stop Notice to Kinch in respect of what he was doing on the lands. “Mr Kinch has disregarded these notices and continued to do his business. How can we seek to enforce these various rules when it comes to small business operators and even homeowners while turning a blind eye to what Mr Kinch has done and continues to do?” Marshall asked. “As for the small businesses that are there, some of these businesses are located on lands that are not even owned by Mr Kinch. A significant part of the lands adjoining the foreshore remains the property of the Government of Barbados. Mr Kinch knows this and still has located businesses on Government lands.” The Attorney General insisted that the Government had no interest in stopping small businesses from thriving, but the status of those businesses occupying Government land have to be regularised. “We, equally, have no interest in preventing Mr Kinch from doing business, but his endeavours also have to be regularised,” added Marshall. “As we have done up to this point, we intend to move forward in the spirit of dialogue and mutual respect with a minimum of friction and dislocation.” However, Kinch views the AG’s public statement on the land purchase situation as inappropriate given what has been taking place between the two sides. “I am shocked that the AG would try to create a story in the news and on the call-in programmes instead of responding to the numerous emails from my attorney asking for a draft agreement since the site meeting on June 2nd, 2021, where the PM [Prime Minister Mia Mottley] asked him and my attorney to finalise the swap of about one acre on the seaside beside Copacabana for two acres on the west end across the road on the corner, beside the traffic light,” the businessman told Barbados TODAY Wednesday night. “I am yet to receive any agreement from the AG or the PM who was or is the minister of planning, and I have been following up regularly since 2021 to try and finalise an agreement…. I cannot see what the need was to issue this statement today, as I was asked earlier this week to meet with the AG and [Senior Minister with responsibility for Planning and Infrastructure] Dr [William] Duguid on Friday,” Kinch asserted. He also drew attention to Prime Minister Mottley’s first Budget speech in 2019 in which she told the House of Assembly that her Government was obligated to honour agreements entered into by the previous administration. emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb]]>