What started as “unauthorised” excavation work by the government’s drainage unit on the beachside entertainment spot Savvy on the Bay on Upper Bay Street on Thursday morning, leading to the summoning of the police, has reached a compromise.
The dispute in which Savvy owner Allan Kinch objected to earth-moving equipment digging up the property without his consent to unblock drainage next to the adjoining Copacabana Beach Club, was eventually resolved following the intervention of Minister of Transport and Works and Deputy Prime Minister Santia Bradshaw who visited the scene.
“The drainage unit of MTW would have responded to a report relating to a blocked drainage area, which basically is responsible for bringing water from a lot of The City districts, taking it through the underground area into the sea,” Bradshaw told reporters after assessing the situation and being briefed by Kinch, the head of the drainage Unit Andre Brice and Operator 1 of MTW’s heavy equipment Alwyn Herbert.
“So, they responded to that area, which happens to be on the property right now that everybody knows as Savvy on the Beach, which is right next to Copacabana. It is clear from examination of the area with the drainage team, that there is some work that has to be carried out on the site in order to be able to allow the flow of water to go freely into the ocean.”
She disclosed that the drainage unit team will do a further assessment by the use of drawings to determine the best way to proceed and then met again with the various parties to try to find a lasting resolution.
“I am grateful to the owner from Savvy Mr Kinch and his other half Ms Sara Taylor for being able to facilitate the drainage team and the technical team being here to be able to find a solution, a compromise in terms of how we carry out the work pretty much on the property that they currently occupy,” Bradshaw said.
In an earlier interview with Barbados TODAY at the scene, Kinch, who admitted calling in the police, sought to explain what the dispute was all about.
“MTW came to dig up a pipe that Copacabana had put in for their drainage waste to come over onto Savvy’s property, and they are now packing up and leaving because they are not allowed to trespass and come onto the property,” said the businessman whose Savvy on the Bay operation is a 24-hour beach bar and events venue with 11 trucks in a food court.
“I think MTW needs to deal with Copacabana which has blocked off Lewis Alley, the public access for the residents of Nelson Street to go through to get to the beach. They have blocked the access and they have diverted this drain that used to run from the road, out to the sea. So, they need to do what they need to do and get it reinstated,” the entrepreneur suggested.
Kinch said he reached out to Bradshaw and asked her to intervene.
Barbados TODAY has reached out to Copacabana’s management for comment.
But the future of the popular beach spot which is at the centre of a tussle with the government over its proposed acquisition of the land remains in limbo, according to Kinch.
“They asked me to get an evaluation, which I did,” he said. “They told me the evaluation was not reasonable. They told me it is too high. So, they had an evaluation done by the land tax department, the commissioner of land tax, who valued it at less than the purchase price, and they lowered my land tax. So, I went and pay the land tax bill, and I have objected to the lowering of my land tax.”
emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb
