Government buys Boatswain’s Bay lighthouse property to build West Bay police station

For the second time in less than a week, government has announced it is purchasing land with a lighthouse on it in the Cayman Islands.

Government has contracted to buy the two-acre Boatswain’s Bay lighthouse property in West Bay from the Hydes family for $2.3 million. The site is slated to become the future home of the long-discussed West Bay Police Station.

The announcement comes just days after government confirmed it would buy 125 acres of land surrounding the lighthouse on the eastern end of Cayman Brac.

The ‘Boatswain Point Light’ or beacon was built in the 1930s to serve as a navigational light, and it sits on the highest point of land in the district of West Bay.

The purchases come at a time when Minister of Finance Rolston Anglin has warned that government could be facing a $60 million dollar deficit and run out of cash by the end of the year. This possibility has prompted the administration to implement a hiring freeze on all non-essential positions in the civil service.

“While there is potential for a fiscal deficit, these are strategic equity investments for government,” Anglin said.

“Government is currently sitting on a reasonably significant cash position, and we have also secured a $150 million loan facility that our administration has not really had to draw down on yet.”

Minister Anglin said government has had an eye on these properties for a long time.

“With there being lighthouses on these pieces of land, it is likely that many members of the public thought they were owned by the Crown already,” he said.

“We were fortunate that in both cases the property owners were committed to selling to government, and it should be noted that the Hydes family already had other offers in hand for the two-acre parcel in West Bay.”

Anglin said government plans to build the new West Bay Police Station at the location of the Boatswain’s Bay lighthouse.

“While there was a piece of swamp land previously identified for the building of a new West Bay police station, we believe that this site is a more strategic and resilient choice, especially given that it is the highest point in West Bay,” he said.

“Longer term, if the government decides to move or expand district medical services in West Bay, it is also possible the West Bay medical clinic could eventually move to this site as well.”

The other three parliamentary representatives for West Bay joined Minister Anglin in celebrating the purchase of the property.

Julie Hunter said, “We are so thankful that we were able to acquire this land for West Bay and for the island as a whole, because as the minister said, this is a strategic point that we have been looking at for a long time.”

Katherine Ebanks-Wilks, who grew up just down the road from the property, said, “It is very special to all West Bayers, but especially those who live in the district of Boatswain Bay, so I want to thank on behalf of government all the residents of West Bay who got together, who lobbied and petitioned to ensure that this property was purchased by the government.”

Premier André Ebanks also thanked his caucus colleagues and the Hydes family.

“We know the private sector very often moves faster than government, so credit to your family for recognising the opportunity to the country and helping to ensure that the land ended up in the hands of the Crown,” he said.