A blocked public beach access on Prospect Point Road has generated a heated response from local residents, some of whom are calling for action from the government to address the issue.
A Facebook video of the blocked access posted on 22 Jan. by Rita Estevanovich shows cultural practitioner Lorna Bush trying to access the beach through the public right of way, where it is blocked by construction materials, a tree and a fence. Together, these obstacles completely prevent access to the beach.
In response to the video on Facebook, former Cayman Islands Museum director Anita Ebanks said, “Thank you for bringing these shameful actions to the public. The relevant ministers, ministry and departments need to address this ASAP.”
Former president of the Cayman Islands Tourism Association Troy Leacock also commented, saying, “No government in my living memory has ever enforced our right of way to our coastline. Right of ways are blocked, gated, removed and ignored in every district.”
Leacock added, “The only solution to this is a 6-foot-wide bulldozer running from the road to the sea in every documented right of way. Whatever is in the path of the right of way is loaded on a dump truck and taken to the dump, whether it is a gate, fence, foliage or building. Anything on the right of way path is considered litter and removed without any discussion.” This comment from Leacock had already attracted over 20 ‘thumbs ups’, less than 24 hours after the video was posted.
Public Lands Commission ‘looking into’ complaint
Compass Media reached out for comment on the issue to the parliamentary representative for Red Bay, Roy Tatum, the electoral representative for the area that includes Prospect Point Road.
“I spoke to Lorna Bush about this matter on Sunday,” Tatum said. “I visited the site to see it for myself. I also messaged Chief Officer Eric Bush, and he confirmed it was being looked into by the Public Lands Commission.”
Yuliet Smith, acting deputy chief inspector for the Public Lands Inspectorate, said, “A complaint had been filed, an investigator had been assigned and an investigation into the blocked public right of way is now underway, and this will also include an assessment of the two other public beach access points on Prospect Point Road.”
Smith confirmed that blocking a public beach access is an offence that can result in fines; “Obstructing a registered public right of way is a criminal offence under the Public Lands Act,” she said.
Section 26 of the Public Lands Act (2024 Revision) states that no person, without lawful authority, may obstruct or interfere with a member of the public’s right to exercise a public right of way over private land. On summary conviction, an offence is punishable by a fine of $5,000 or imprisonment for a term of six months, or both, with an additional fine of $500 per day for each day the obstruction continues after conviction.
The Public Lands Commission sits under the remit of the Ministry of Planning, Lands, Agriculture, Housing and Infrastructure.
One of the functions of the Public Lands Commission is to protect the right of access to and use of public land (this includes registered and unregistered public rights of way to the beach and shoreline) by members of the public, including the enforcement of public rights of way over private land.
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Palicades has been pulling this cr@p for at 15/20+ years. My father reported them & every other blocked access on that road for those years at least twice a year but as you can see… Everyone living at blocked access point there fights it tooth & nail as they think it shouldn’t be allowed. The owners at that access point, the one next to the monument that is now over the driveway of that house because the owner illegally & knowingly built it there & CIG at the time, didn’t have the b@lls to insist they tear up the driveway to reinstate the access, and the 2 points further down the road at the last house on the left, have always been difficult because it’s “theirs”. Clarification* the original owners of the last house on the left never had a problem with the points