Minister cites safety reasons for closure of Buccament Bay beach

Access to two sections of the popular Buccament Bay beach has been temporarily closed due to construction by the Sandals Resort.

There had been no public notice of the closure and persons turned up at the beach on Monday only to find that the access to the beach had been completely blocked and a sign erected.

Caution sign at the Buccament Bay beach , stating that the beach is temporarily closed

A few days before a full fence was erected to stop persons from using the beach, there had been an attempt by the Sandals construction team to block public access, but the fencing was inadequate and persons were still able to access the beach despite huge boulders and mounds of sand.

That changed on Monday when a more substantial blockade was put in place.

On Tuesday, Minister of Finance Camillo Gonsalves explained that the beach is a construction site at the moment and the closure is only temporary.

“There are hundreds of large boulders on the site, to build groynes and coastal protection,” Gonsalves explained.

He disclosed that Sandals is building a jetty and driving piles in order to accommodate over-water villas and a chapel.

“There are cranes there. Bulldozers, tractors, and excavators operating. There are also trucks and barges delivering sand for beach replenishment.

“The area is unsafe for recreational activity at the moment. Last week, children were climbing the rock piles and diving off the unfinished jetty area.
We are fortunate that no one was injured,” Gonsalves further explained.

He stressed that for safety and liability reasons, that portion of the beach will be closed until construction activity is complete.

Gonsalves also noted that government asked Sandals to defer some of their coastal work to allow for the tourism and carnival seasons, but now work must commence in earnest in order for the resort to meet its completion and opening deadlines.

The law in St Vincent and the Grenadines dictates that beaches are public areas and access should be freely given to persons wishing to use them. Also, public access should be provided to beaches which border private lands.

The Finance Minister is however asking persons to bear with the developers. “The beach will be reopened when the construction work is complete,” Gonsalves promised.

Before the Finance Minister explained the situation at the beach, personnel at the National Parks, Rivers and Beaches Authority, the organisation charged with managing facilities of this nature, said they were not aware of the temporary blocked access.

Minister of Tourism Carlos James referred SEARCHLIGHT to Sandals Resort’s Annette Mark, said to be responsible for community liaison. No response had been received from Mark up to press time.

Gonsalves recently told SEARCHLIGHT that the Sandals Resort being constructed in Buccament is going to be second to none and is expected to exponentially boost visitor arrivals to our multi-island chain.

He was speaking in June, during a visit by a team of Sandals upper management personnel that included Executive Chairman of Sandals Resorts International and Beaches Resorts Adam Stewart, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Gerhard Rainer, Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Jordan Samuda, Chief Operating Officer (COO) Shawn Dacosta, Managing Director St Lucia, Grenada and SVG Winston Anderson and Group Director of Technical Services Eugene Stall.

Executive Chairman Stewart said at the time that the over US$100 million facility, when finished, will be one of the most extraordinary hotels ever developed in the Caribbean.