MARINA DEVELOPMENT AT HANNAH BAY MAY BEGIN IN JUNE
All indications are that the first phase of the marina development
at Hannah Bay in the 3rd District should start in about three
months time, according to reports reaching the Island Sun. A
meeting was held at the community centre in Sea Cow’s Bay
on Monday evening. A proposal to construct 50 marina slips with
accommodating bulkheads, along with several condominium units
on the Turner property, was forwarded to the BVI government about
seven years ago by Bulgarian John Atanasoff, who resides in Colorado,
USA. The proposal was approved in principle by Executive Council
in February of 1998.
However, the proposal from WATCOL BVI 50 Ltd. met with fierce resistance from residents, in particular the 3rd District Progressive Movement, who argued that a project of this nature was too large for the area. They were also concerned about how it would affect the water flow in the bay. Over the years, consultations were held between government, the developer and members of the public. All Ministers of government attended a meeting and listened to the concerns of the community, the main concern surrounding the marine part of the project. Government promised to talk to the developer and try to get them to scale back the project.
“Monday night’s meeting was called to report back to the community on the results of further negotiation between the government and the developer,” Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Labour Mrs. Sheila Brathwaite told The Island Sun. She said the developer has now agreed to scale back the project from 50 to 25 slips. During the meeting, there was reportedly a lot more acceptance for the project. The residents confessed that they were against the project as earlier outlined, but would be willing to accept the amended proposal as presented.
“From hereon in, we would have to go back to Executive Council with the scaled back version and seek to get their approval,” the P.S stated. She said the meeting was well attended. The developer is quoted as saying this is a project he really wants to carry out. He was anxious to hear if there were any negative comments, as he wanted to do whatever was necessary to ensure the project goes forward. He said once he gets approval, he would be ready to start construction in June.
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