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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Wish you were this aggressive when foreign hotel owners were restricting locals from accessing our beaches but now you want to bring down the hammer
Yes world boss through you hat in the ring .. you have excavators backhoes big trucks what else you name them
concession on cement all duty free on materials… I’m on to your shenanigans…. Master of illusion… pathological liar..
This can never happen when Ministers give instructions to DCA to break the rules and regulations. As a result of all the political interference in DCA anything is possible there now as quite a few staff have jumped on the band wagon to do the same. Right now a Minister is interfering and over riding both NPA and DCA in English Harbour. And we all know why. So Gaston needs to stop talking about these types of things over which he has no control.
What a man with double standards
I know personally that people get special treatment because of they know at DCA .. Gaston stop lying .. btw who’s your friend that name you didn’t call about the car scandal that you are in business with, yes the same guy that’s building your mansion… we are on to you … hurry and call the election, master of illusion pathological liar ..
After 11-12 long years of looting the peoples purse?
This man is as daft or as crookish as they get.
Yep, I was correct, this man suffers mightily from ” The dunning Kruger Effect”.
He just keeps going around in circles because he keeps over estimating his intelligence.
A centralised system makes sense. There should be one front desk somewhere that people can go to to submit their application and obtain their approvals for all types of buildings in the country. In a similar vein, there should be rules regarding where different types of buildings are allowed e.g. local housing vs short term housing vs Air BnB’s vs hotels etc. There should definitely be some common infrastructure and locations for vendors on beaches etc. And, there should be rules prohibiting too much village housing from going to short term housing. New concrete hurricane-resistant dwellings should be given discounted fees etc. Village rents should be: unfurnished Studio EC $800-$1100; unfurnished 1bd $1000-$1400; unfurnished 2b $1500-$2000; furnished Studio $1500-2000; furnished 1bd $1600-$2700; furnished 2bd $2400-$3500 or something like that. There should be controls on housing quality, locations and prices.