Browne Says Long Bay Zen Resort Will Not Affect Public Beach Access
Prime Minister Gaston Browne says the planned Long Bay Zen Resort will be built on the site of the former Long Bay Hotel and will not affect public access to Long Bay Beach.
Speaking on the Browne and Browne radio programme on Saturday, Browne sought to counter claims that the development would take over public beachfront property.
“For those who are concerned about whether or not we’ll be taking up Long Bay, and that people not have access to the beach and other beach users, that’s not the case,” Browne said. “We’re talking about the old Long Bay Hotel.”
The prime minister said the property has accommodated a hotel for decades and that the current project is a redevelopment of an existing tourism site rather than a new encroachment on public lands.
“There has been a Long Bay Hotel that existed for over 50 years,” Browne said.
According to Browne, the developers acquired the former hotel property approximately 11 years ago and initially planned a larger project. He said the development was delayed after the investors lost “tens of millions of dollars” through an offshore bank that later encountered financial difficulties.
Browne said the investors remained committed to the project despite those setbacks.
“It’s not a new project in the sense that this was planned before,” he said.
The prime minister also rejected allegations that the resort would consume the remaining public beach area at Long Bay.
“What people like Comrade Knight are trying to do is to fool the Antiguan-Barbudan people to say to them, that the remaining Long Bay Beach, the public access, that that will be taken up by this hotel. That is not true,” Browne said.
Browne further addressed criticism surrounding a one-acre beachfront parcel formerly owned by his son, stating that the land was purchased from former Long Bay Hotel owner Chris LaFourie in 2014 before later being sold to the Chinese investors involved in the resort project.
He said LaFourie had publicly advertised the hotel property for sale since 2010 after inheriting it from his family, which had operated the establishment for decades.
According to Browne, a previous proposal supported by the former United Progressive Party administration sought to acquire the beachfront acre as part of a larger hotel development. He said the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party opposed the plan at the time because it would have reduced public access to the beach.
“The Labour Party at the time said that, look, the people should not be displaced,” Browne said.
Browne said the proposed transaction never materialized and the land later returned to the market, attracting interest from several prospective buyers.
He said his son ultimately purchased the one-acre parcel for US$750,000 and later sold it to the Chinese development group for US$1.5 million.
“So one private person to another private person,” Browne said, describing the transaction.
The Long Bay Zen Resort recently broke ground and is expected to feature 120 rooms as part of a luxury tourism development on Antigua’s eastern coast.
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GASTON BROWNE,I DO NOT BELIEVED ONE DARN ONE WORD COMING FROM YOU.I REMEMBERED HEARING YOU SAID.THAT BUILDING NEAR THE BEACH WOULD HAVE TO BE REMOVED.IT IS THE RESTAURANT OWNED BY THE BARRETT FAMILY.WHAT HAS BECOME OF THAT PROMISE? TALK,TALK,TALK,YOU ARE VERY GOOD AT GABBING.YOU ARE FILLED WITH GAS.
When is there going to be enough “resorts” in Antigua ?
All of the damn beaches on the Island would shortly become private.Then what would we do about going to the Beaches on Antigua.People,it is time to stand up and be counted.All of the Beaches on Antigua are public.
@ Soon To Be Homeless
There will never be enough. That’s the only way this Administration can provide the people with low paying jobs while all the profits go overseas
Can we start canning and exporting all the fruits we have dropping on the ground? The same fruits in the US are expensive and poor quality and we’re already paying for the boat to go back up empty
When will we start taking the social and community aspect of the lives of Antiguans into consideration when seeking to sell out our shores for foreign investment? More and more our beaches and the areas around our beaches we used as a means of gathering together and a community and family member are becoming more limited. These areas are places we go for mental clarity, to be refreshed and renewed by the sounds of the crashing waves on our sea shores. Investors and our government should also look at the places our people gather in these places as places to be protected for the mental health of our community just as the mangroves are to be protected to feed our people now and in the future. This is the social challenge that needs to be a part of seeking out investors with their projects. What activities do our communities carry out in these places? Is the investor willing to incorporate these activities into their development to allow for these activities to continue. There has to be a balance, the millions and the people. Not the millions minus our communities. If an investor is not willing to take the community life into consideration then we have to seek out other investors. Lets take it a step further than just access to the beaches in 2026. Lets really level up for the people of Antigua and our future. We have not because we ask not, and want not, or care not.
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