The Ministry of Planning has vowed to make its compulsory acquisition objection process accessible to the public through its website, following a recommendation by the Court of Appeal.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, 12 April, Deputy Chief Officer Tristan Hydes welcomed the 31 March judgment and acknowledged the importance of the objection process being within the public’s domain.
“As the Cayman Islands population continues to grow, so do our needs as a nation, whether it’s the need for new transportation strategies, housing projects or public utilities,” said Hydes in the statement. “It is important the public understands how the process works when the government declares an intention in the public’s interest that land may need to be acquired for public projects.
“The process is designed to be fair, easy to understand and transparent.”
No timeline was provided for when the compulsory acquisition objection process would be published on the ministry’s website.
“The Ministry believes in being transparent and is taking the necessary steps to publish additional information to provide clarity,” Hydes said.
His comments come two weeks after the courts handed down a judgment against landowners who objected to the compulsory acquisition of their property for the construction of Lissa Lane.
In the judgment, which ended a multi-year court battle, the judges stated that the affected landowners were treated fairly during the process, despite the lack of a clear process of objection.
The judgment has given the government the green light to formally construct Lissa Lane, which was initially gazetted in 2019, following approval from Cabinet on the recommendation of the NRA.
“The purpose of the transformation of Lissa Lane in West Bay is to provide property access to all adjoining landowners, to resolve a land lock issue, and facilitate utility access,” said the planning ministry in its statement.
It added that construction on the new road is “scheduled to start in the near future”.
While the dust has officially settled on the Lissa Lane matter, it’s not clear what, if any, implications it could have in the future, as controversial compulsory purchase of private land will be used extensively for several new road projects in the pipeline, including the East-West Arterial expansion.
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