Cayman’s long-discussed development plan is unlikely to be completed before the end of government’s current term, Premier Wayne Panton has said.
In response to Cayman Compass questions at a media briefing on Thursday, 28 July, Panton said there have been a number of meetings between his Ministry of Sustainability and Climate Resiliency, the Planning Ministry and the Lands Ministry to work through what has to be done on the development plan.
“I think everybody will understand and, [as] has been acknowledged in the past, [it] is not something that is a six-month project or a 12-month project. It’s, unfortunately, a multi-year project. So while it is under way, we’re not expecting to have the full development plan completed for the country probably until into the next term. At this point, we’re probably going to have perhaps half of it done by the end of this term,” he said.
The pressing need for a sustainable development plan came into sharp focus last week as Deputy Premier Chris Saunders released the final report of the 2022 census which showed Cayman’s population had grown by 29.2% since the last census in 2010 and stood at 71,432 as of October 2021.
Panton, in his address at the media briefing held to announce the census findings, acknowledged that there has been “unplanned, unrestrained growth”, and there have been “significant concerns expressed and significant consequences for our people on a variety of areas including the ability for Caymanians to find affordable housing”.
He said the work currently in progress on the development plan will be building on the foundation of the PlanCayman initiative under the previous Progressives-led administration.
“I don’t think it includes necessarily every element of it, but it is certainly building on that because there was good work done initially and, where that is the case, then we build on that and we take it further,” he said.
How we got here
The last development plan for the Cayman Islands was created back in 1997 and remains the current plan, though over the years there have been attempts to update it.
PlanCayman, which was started under the Alden McLaughlin-led administration in 2018, was touted as a long-range comprehensive plan which would be used to guide physical development and the overall use of land on Grand Cayman.
“The purpose of the Plan is to assist residents, developers, government agencies and the Central Planning Authority by establishing goals, objectives and guidelines for future development. The Plan is a living document and will be reviewed and updated as actions are achieved and conditions change,” its description stated.
According to the PlanCayman website, the Central Planning Authority in 2001 had commenced a review of the 1997 document.
“Volunteer District Subcommittees were established which undertook visioning exercises for each district. Each subcommittee produced a ‘Vision Statement’ setting out how local residents would like their district to be developed in the future. The Plan review process also recognised the need for more detailed guidance for the districts, in the form of Area Plans. In order to steer the Plan review process, a Development Plan Review Committee (DPRC) was formed,” it stated.
Following a Development Plan Tribunal in 2003, the CPA prepared final amendments for the preparation of a Development Plan 2004, but these were never adopted,” the website added.
A review of the 1997 Plan was also proposed in 2008 when a Strategic Plan was prepared, outlining goals and objectives for the use and development of land in Grand Cayman. The goals described in the 2008 Planning Statement were derived from the previous public outreach exercises along with the National Strategic Plan, ‘Vision 2008’, the website stated.
“These previous reviews and public consultation exercises, along with a range of other Government studies, plans and strategies forms the basis for the 2018 Development Plan review,” it added.
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