This letter is in response to the 4 Jan. 2023 article titled ‘Marriott Bussing Guests to Dart Beach’.
Great article! I am sure that I do not need to tell your readers of the extensive beach erosion from Plantation Village to Coral Beach. Our family has been an owner of a unit at Cayman Reef Resort that is located along this stretch of beach since it was built in the early 1970’s. We have witnessed the beach erosion in this area up close and personally.
When first built, we were over 200 feet from the ocean. We had a line of casuarina trees on the beach between Cayman Reef and the ocean. We could sit on the beach in the shade of these trees. Now the beach is almost completely gone!
We were greatly heartened by the government allocation of CI$21 million in 2021 to study and restore the beach. What happened to this plan, because now it is a total secret. The September 2022 meeting of concerned parties, chaired by Marriott manager Hermes Cuello and mentioned in your article, essentially reveled no government progress that could be reported on this problem.
The Marriott Hotel now has no beach and must transport their guests to other parts of the island. How long will they stay in business under these circumstances? What about the homes along this section of Seven Mile Beach? Is the government just going to wait till they start falling into the ocean before announcing their plan for beach restoration?
As a homeowner, the government has not provided any information or action plan to address beach restoration. They risk a future catastrophic loss of property values. This would not be good for future tourism or real estate sales!
James Rich
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