A long-running plan to build new restaurants and houses next to the Scotiabank building near the Grand Harbour roundabout took a step closer to fruition last week, as revised plans were presented to the Central Planning Authority board on Wednesday.
More than a decade after planning permission was granted for four fast-food restaurants to be located next to the bank on the intersection of Crewe Road, Shamrock Road and South Sound Road, planning committee members are now considering a modified application for just two restaurants and five townhouses on the site.
Planning permission for the Scotiabank building itself was granted in 2009, with permission for a commercial building containing four restaurants on the same parcel of land granted a year later. The original plan was that two of the four restaurants would operate drive-throughs, with the owners having discussions with fast food chains such as Dunkin’, Smoothie King and various pizza chains.
The “double drive-through” proved a source of concern from the start, however, with notes from the National Road Authority included in the CPA minutes from 2010 saying it would “be a new feature for Cayman drivers to learn and will take some time to become established”.
There were also objections from residents of neighbouring complexes over the increase of traffic, noise and food smells.
The project seems to have been put on hold between 2011 and 2021. Revised plans submitted in October last year show that the proposal, valued at $1.2 million, had been modified from four restaurants to just two and now include five, two-bedroom townhouse apartments instead.
Plans for two drive-throughs have been reduced to just one, although comments submitted to the planning board by the National Roads Authority in September 2024 recommend that the CPA “have the applicant adjust the site to remove the drive-through and have a regular sit-down establishment” instead.
The NRA said it had safety concerns due to the position of the drive-through windows near the entrance to the site which, it said, could lead to cars stacking up on Crewe Road. It noted that other drive-throughs on island, such as Burger King, Wendy’s, Popeyes and several banks, were located at the rear of properties so that queuing vehicles do not interfere with the normal flow of traffic.
The CPA board will publish minutes of its discussion on the proposal in the next few weeks.
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