Plans for a recreational shooting and training grounds have been approved by the Central Planning Authority, despite contrary advice from environmental experts.
Cayman Islands Sport Shooting Association on 1 March applied for permission to construct the $500,000 facility off the future Airport Connector Road in George Town.
Its plans include a number of shooting ranges, including one for skeet shooting, as well as a 747-square-foot clubhouse, storage buildings, 70 parking spaces and tactical training areas.
According to the Department of Environment in the meeting’s agenda, the 37.9-acre site is one of the last remaining Crown-owned plots with protected mangrove on North Sound.
Department director Gina Ebanks-Petrie at the time said mangroves are a critical part of the natural environment and recommended that the site remain as its “primary habitat”.
She added that mangrove forests are productive ecosystems that help to protect against flooding from storms, mitigate climate change and filter pollutants from the water.
However, in the minutes of the meeting, published on Thursday, 23 March, the planning authority agreed to grant planning permission on the site subject to several conditions.
Among the conditions are that the sport shooting association should submit plans for wastewater treatment, stormwater management, construction operations and landscape.
The planning authority also gave directions on construction methods to limit damage to the surrounding environment and requested the addition of three accessible parking spaces.
No mention was made of the flooded mangrove habitat and mangrove buffer zone which will be built on.
In response to the decision, a representative from the Department of Environment told the Compass it had provided its “best advice”, adding, “we stand behind our review”.
“As with the majority of planning applications the DoE reviews, our input to this application was comprised of recommendations only and therefore was non-binding on the Central Planning Authority,” it said.
‘Superior attributes’
The 40-year-old club plans to make the move from its current location close to Owen Roberts International Airport in anticipation of proposed expansions of the terminal and runway.
In a letter presented to the authority prior to the meeting, the association said the plot is the “most convenient and cost-effective” location from which to operate.
It has “superior attributes” to a previously approved plot of Crown land in the East End, the letter read, which was made up of rock strata exposing the fresh water lens.
The club added that East End location would have presented a logistical and financial burden for its users, who include uniformed services, athletes and recreational shooters.
Overriding protections
Building on plots of protected mangrove has long been a matter of contention between developers and environmentalists.
Just last week, on 20 March, the Office of the Auditor General published a report saying the Cayman Islands government has failed to protect and restore its wetlands.
“Some wetlands are protected, but significant wetlands have been lost over the last five decades,” Auditor General Sue Winspear wrote in the report.
Between 1976 and 2013, there was a 70% decrease in mangroves and sedge marshes on the west side of Grand Cayman due to residential and commercial development.
The Department of Environment told the auditor general that planning permission can override protection of wetlands, leading to acres being lost every month, the report said.
The Compass has reached out to the Cayman Islands Sport Shooting Association for comment and is awaiting a response.
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