Cayman Craft Market facing relocation as Parliament expands

The Cayman Craft Market, which sells local spices, snacks, jams, woodcarvings, jewellery and hats, might have to relocate for the second time in if plans to expand the Parliament site go ahead.

The market is located in George Town off North Church Street, a few minutes’ walk from the cruise ship dock. The craft market, which was originally located in the southern end of town at the junction of South Church Street and Boilers Road before being relocated after Covid, now sits directly behind the Parliament building, which is located on Fort Street in central George Town

In response to a question from Deputy Opposition Leader Kenneth Bryan on whether the government intends to relocate the market, and if so, where and when, Deputy Premier and Tourism Minister Gary Rutty said that his ministry “does not currently have any plans to relocate the Cayman Islands craft market.”

However when Bryan asked for confirmation, Planning Minister Jay Ebanks rose to clarify that Parliament was looking to expand its land to the back of the building, saying that while government or the Tourism Ministry wasn’t looking to move the market, the management of Parliament itself was looking to do so.  

“We’re asking for the land for the expansion of this Parliament,” he said, “So just to be clear, for clarity, it is the management of this house [that] has written to me as a minister of lands, identifying the location of the expansion of this building to look forward, and because of that expansion, we will have to see that the craft market is moved somewhere else. To all due respect to the minister of tourism, the deputy premier would not know that, because he does not sit on that management [council].”

In response, Bryan said, “This is, I think … a classic case of government not talking to each other.”

Ebanks replied that, as minister for lands, it was his responsibility to look at what square footage Parliament required, then to bring a procurement request to Cabinet “where all of my colleagues will then know what is happening, because they do not sit on the management council. All of those that sit on the management council will know what is happening when it comes to the land in the back of the Parliament. So I just want to clarify it. It’s not that nobody in the government knows what’s going on. That particular item has not reached caucus in Cabinet stage as of yet for the decision on that.”