Future of derelict Royal Palms site up in the air

The site of the former Royal Palms bar, once one of the most popular venues for locals and tourists alike, stands a shadow of its former self due to storm surges that have battered its structure and stolen its beachfront.

Plans for the Seven Mile Beach site are “indeterminate”, according to Dart officials. The old Royal Palms Beach Club closed when COVID-19 hit and the building is in a state of disrepair.

Last November, work commenced to clean up debris around the crumbling seawall on the edge of the property while coastal engineers recommended the site be demolished.

Structural damage at the beachfront property was exacerbated last year in storms that touched local shores during hurricane season.

Now that the 2023 hurricane season has commenced, questions have been raised about the property after clearing the site.

However, Dart, in response to Compass queries, said the only work that has been conducted was as required to remove debris from the storm damage.

“We are monitoring the condition of the facility on a regular basis and conduct cleanups regularly. The future plans for the site are indeterminate,” the emailed statement said.

Though derelict, the bar, which remains an eyesore at the southern end of the beach, still sits on a prime piece of property and Dart says they are “keen to see the facility up and running again”.

They indicated that they are “exploring opportunities within the current site constraints”.

This comes even as a report for the Department of Environment recommended the buildings be demolished and built further back from the water.

That area of the coast has been hit severely by erosion that has made the bar deck a hazard.

Its crumbling wall, which partially fell into the sea last year, has been removed.

Now the compound is cordoned off by fencing.

The nearby Coral Beach bar continues to operate, though it too has suffered beach loss.

In 2021, government committed to allocating $21 million over two years for a project to restore the large stretch of lost sand at the southern end of Seven Mile Beach.

The beach just a few pockets of sand left in the wake of massive storm surges along the stretch of coastline from the Coral Beach Club to George Town Villas.

A task force chaired by Premier Wayne Panton was established to look into the problem.

The Compass has requested an update on the work of the task force and its proposal for restoring the beach, and is awaiting a response.

The coastline could once again face battering storm surges this hurricane season, highlighting the need for a plan to deal with beach loss on the island’s main tourism draw.