Government wants amicable solution to public access to beaches

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Prime Minister Gaston Browne says while all beaches in Antigua and Barbuda are open and free to the public,’ his administration is having to deal with the reality that landowners, particularly some hotels, are also seeking to ensure their own privacy and in the process, “are cutting off access to the beach”.

Bowne, speaking on his radio programme over the last weekend, told listeners that the authorities are seeking to deal with the issue after some callers had indicated that they were unaware that there were private beaches here.

“All beaches are public. But before you get to the beach….people own land…so what is happening is that in order to access the beach you have to walk through their private land and they are seeking to literally ensure their own privacy and in the process cutting off access to the beach,” Browne said.

“In some instances, I believe you have to travel too far to get access. So we will have to now look at where we can create more convenient access for the people,” Browne told radio listener, saying while he accepted their comments that there should be free access to the beaches, security reasons were also being used to deny public access to the beaches in the area by certain hotels.

Browne made special mention of the ongoing situation involving The Mill Reef Club, which is a 1,500-acre members-only club that includes five miles of shoreline and three islands on the east coast of Antigua.

“I don’t think any serious consideration was given to people having access to the beaches there,” he said

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6 COMMENTS

  1. There are NO private beaches in Antigua and Barbuda. Let’s ensure we keep it that way. Free access for all.

    • Absolutely-it would be a horrible shame if that was to change.. The property owners can secure their premises without blocking access to the beaches-if they decide that they will totally block access or in some cases makes the access difficult to get through,we make need to get to those properties in numbers and i mean NUMBERS..Lets hope it doesn’t get to that..

  2. So after u guys done sell off all the beach land you talking about beach access….if its one the the lord dont love ugly ,it can and will be taken away in the blink of an eye

  3. I believe this issue of the beaches are public but it is the access that one has to give is debatable. And I believe landowners will win the argument in court. If I do not have any control as to who crosses my property and what time. Just look at Valley Church Beach. After a certain time the man put his chain up and no one can pass through his property to go to the beach. Mill Reef as I have said before is a situation of security for the wealthy. You cannot in these day and age with kidnapping and other terrorist activities have these people exposed to the crime. Antigua has been very safe over the years, but you sure do not want one such incident occur or you will lose all these people who really contribute a lot to the economy. Just by bringing in their private jet and all that comes with it. Are you going to determine for Mill Reef where it is that people should pass. And when they do pass, should they be guided to ensure they do not go anywhere else. It is simply not practical. Perhaps the Fishermen in this case should sit down with management and work our a solution. One I could think of is that they get registered with the hotel and have a background check done. So that security can let them in if they have their pass with them. Just like going one the Airforce Base you have to be registered by the guards and show an ID. They can also be issued a pass which they need to pick up at the gate sign in and when they leave sign out again. There are many ways to control the traffic and at the same time ensure security of the homeowners. Lets not forget the murder that took place on the yacht in Barbuda many years ago.
    When it come to the Hadeed lands at Runnaway. Folks lets be fair. if it were me I would have fenced my place a long time ago. Have you been their a Sunday afternoon after the party people have left. Yes they leave all the garbage behind them for someone else to clean up. Many years ago it use to be my favorite beach. You had the trees to hide from the sun and the entire family could relax while enjoying some good BBQ and rum for the guys. But now all you see is condoms everywhere. We are to blame for the Hadeed to take this decision. And Forth James is bad too. You cannot bring your young children there if you have not clean the bushes from the many condoms. Littering is the main reason why people do not want the general public to continue passing through their lands. I would have loved to see Hadeed developed this area. I saw some renderings in 1993 that blow me away. But they didn’t had the financing to get it done. And the land is too narrow in my opinion. Government should consider a land swap with the Hadeed and than make it a public park. Similar to what they want to do at Forth James. It could have a boutique hotel on it and some shops and fast food restaurant but nothing else.

    • I see no place or subject is sacred to you From the Sidelines and your political Axe grinding with Barbuda continues while your paycheck gets cashed . Please also mention the Pigeon point murder, The honey moon couple, along with the daily serious crime and murders which are out of control in Antigua and there alone!. Also let the world know that Barbudan’s who own guns have a licence to do so for hunting Animals for food not people. Barbuda’s very tragic and historic event is nothing compared to whats being covered up and played down daily all in the hope of keeping tourist coming to Antigua go find the leak in your own bucket before you start asking if i’m loosing water out of mine and stop bad-pressing Barbuda.

    • From the Sideline:: There is no way the people can loose a case In court if the law stipulates that the beach is open for public use. The law is the law and must be followed. What you are actually defending is the law has been broken by our government if during the selling of the land it wasn’t ensured that access to the beach was part of the the negotiation. I would want to believe that we elected sensible people to represent us in parliament and not morons that’s not familiar with the law. If this matter gets to court, the government will look like total ass holes and they should all resign and get to hell out of our parliament.

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