The Barbados Wetlands Trust has given the owners of the Chancery Lane, Christ Church property seven days to remove the chain blocking public access to the wetland and Long Beach or face High Court proceedings.
In a letter dated October 28, attorney Alair Shepherd, S.C., trustee of the Trust, told Beachside Properties Inc. that if the chain, its posts and the “No Trespassing / No Dumping” sign strung across the roadway were not taken down within a week, he will file for a declaration that the road was public, plus a mandatory injunction.
“If the Company fails to comply fully with each of these requirements within seven days of the date of this letter, our client has instructed us to issue proceedings against the Company in the High Court of Barbados without further notice,” Shepherd wrote yesterday to the attorneys representing the company.
However, Wendy Abed spokesperson for the Abed family which owns the land, reiterated yesterday that they were strictly acting on the instructions of the Ministry of Health. “They requested the barrier to prevent illegal dumping, prevent rodent harbourage, and protect the wetlands.”
Confirm in writing
She said she was aware of the complaints from the Trust “and I am instructed to tell all aggrieved parties that they can contact the governing body,” she said.
The Trust has also asked the landowner to confirm in writing that the roadway would not be obstructed again and identify every other point at which access has been chained off, with particulars of any authorisation from the Ministry of Health and Wellness or any other public authority.
The Trust emphasised that the blocked roadway running some 370 metres along an asphalted corridor into the wetland was either a public road or a public right of way enjoyed from time immemorial. Shepherd said members of the public had used it openly, continuously and without seeking anyone’s permission “for as long as anyone can remember” to reach the wetland and Long Beach.
“The company’s ownership of the land over which the road passes gives it no right to obstruct the public’s right to pass and repass,” the letter states. “The chain and sign are an unlawful obstruction.”
The Trust maintained that while it supported lawful measures against illegal dumping and offered to discuss alternatives that do not shut out the public, it insisted a discussion with the Ministry of Health “does not, and cannot, authorise the closure of a public road or public right of way.”
In a separate letter, Shepherd took the matter straight to Attorney General Wilfred Abrahams, asking his office to establish the legal status of the roadway, examine the Ministry of Health’s role in its closure and determine whether the obstruction was lawful. He noted that the landowners’ attorney had confirmed the chaining was done “at the request of the Ministry of Health and with its involvement”, a disclosure Shepherd called “particularly important” given a Government ministry’s involvement.
Abrahams, responding to this newspaper, did not address the legality of the chain directly but he was unsparing about the dumping that triggered it.
AG speaks out on dumping
“The dumping in this area is unconscionable and criminal,” the Attorney General said. “I entirely support increased vigilance and prosecution of the culprits along with harsher penalties for desecration of national treasures.” Abrahams described Chancery Lane as one of four critically important primary wetlands in the Barbados National Wetlands Inventory, a Key Biodiversity Area and a nesting site for the endangered Hawksbill turtle and migratory shorebirds. He spoke of it in personal terms, too: “I visit this area often, especially after a period of very heavy rain. It was a favourite sanctuary for me as a child because of its serene beauty.”
“The reckless actions of a lawless few have compromised a public treasure, forcing private stewards into a position where restricting vehicular access felt like their only remaining recourse. This is a classic, painful example of criminal misconduct penalising an entire community.”
The row has erupted against the backdrop of efforts to conserve the roughly 90-acre Chancery Lane property, designated a Natural Heritage Conservation Area in the Physical Development Plan 2023. The Trust has been in talks with Government since a meeting convened by the Prime Minister on June 12, with a site visit on June 19 and a target of resolving acquisition discussions by November 30. (MB)