Major Overhaul Coming for Construction Approvals and Monitoring, PM Says
Prime Minister Gaston Browne says the government is preparing a sweeping overhaul of the construction approval system, including centralising permissions and expanding the Development Control Authority’s capacity to clamp down on unregulated and unsafe building practices.
Speaking on the Browne and Browne Show, Browne said Cabinet has already agreed to strengthen the Development Control Authority (DCA) by hiring more qualified officers to ensure projects follow the building code and prevent the spread of illegal structures. “We have, at the Cabinet level, agreed to scale up the amount of… qualified employees within DCA so that they can monitor these building construction sites more appropriately to make sure that they build within the billing code, make sure there’s no violation of the billing code.”
The Prime Minister said the move comes amid concerns that individuals are bypassing the formal approval system by obtaining letters from personal contacts in various departments, leading to haphazard development and unauthorised construction on beaches and public spaces. He said the problem has become widespread enough to require structural reform. “In fact, what we’ve decided now is that we may have to centralize those permissions because of what is happening. Some of them have actually gotten letters from their friends within fisheries, DCA, and agriculture.”
Browne argued that the current situation is untenable, with individuals erecting shacks on beaches, installing septic systems directly in the sand, and constructing buildings without regard for public access, environmental rules, or national development plans. He said such activity threatens both community enjoyment of beaches and long-term environmental health. “That is not how we want to develop our country. In a haphazard manner… If everybody’s going to go and shack up on the beaches, then where are people going to get spaces to go and picnic?”
The Prime Minister also highlighted growing concerns about the environmental impact of unmanaged coastal construction, including sewage disposal and the erosion of public recreational space. The government, he said, intends to bring order and prevent the unchecked spread of shacks and illegal operations along key tourism corridors such as Darkwood Beach and Morris Bay.
The reform plans form part of a wider push to strengthen national building oversight, improve environmental enforcement, and replace informal approval practices with a centralised, transparent system. Browne did not give a date for implementation but said the changes are now Cabinet policy and will be pursued aggressively to restore proper development standards.
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