Barbadians could soon know what will become of the once stately Sam Lord’s Castle.
Minister of Housing and Lands Michael Lashley yesterday indicated the property is to be compulsorily acquired and a resolution to that effect has been on the Order Paper of the House of Assembly -– since April 16, 2010 – waiting to be debated.
President of CLICO Holdings (Barbados) Limited, Terrance Thornhill, whose company owns the property, said “Government put out a notice indicating that they wanted to acquire the property, but up to now there has been no formal discussion between Government and CLICO.”
Sam Lord’s Castle, built in 1820 by Samuel Hall Lord, was once the toast of Barbados’ hospitality industry before falling into crippling debt.
Sam Lord’s, once owned by the international hotel chain Marriott’s, was sold to a local company, Grants Hotels Inc. in 2001. in 2005, CLICO Group of Companies became the Castle’s new owners.
Last October 2010, a fire of unknown origin broke out at the 58-acre property, extensively damaging the buildings.
