Attorney General Dale Marshall says Government will negotiate with businessman Allan Kinch to reacquire land at Bay Street, St Michael, for a public car park.
Marshall, responding to a Midweek Nation article where some operators at Savvy On The Bay condemned the move, said the Barbados Labour Party Government “we made it clear to Mr Kinch that we did not share the same approach, and that we wanted to preserve part of that overall site for the public of Barbados”.
Failing negotiations, Government has the right to compulsorily acquire the land and the Court will determine compensation.
The land was sold to inch by the previous Democratic Labour Party administration and prior to any work taking place there, Marshall said Kinch was told they “wanted to go in a completely different direction”.
The Attorney General said the development at Savvy, which houses several food trucks, was done without planning approval.
“The Planning and Development Department has issued an Enforcement Notice as well as a Stop Notice to Mr Kinch in respect of what he was doing on the lands. And Mr Kinch has disregarded these notices and continued to do his business. How can we seek to enforce these various rules when it comes to small business operators and even homeowners, while turning a blind eye to what Mr Kinch has done and continues to do?
“As for the small businesses that are there, some of these businesses are located on lands that are not even owned by Mr Kinch. A significant part of the lands adjoining the foreshore remain the property of the Government of Barbados. Mr Kinch knows this and still has located businesses on Government lands.”
Operators Jordan English of Taco Dan and Bar Cutters’ Jamal Hall both lamented the move to reclaim the land.
The full statement is below:
Much has been said about the issue of the status of the lands at Bay Street that were purchased by one of Mr Allan Kinch’s companies. While the sale of that property was a policy position of a previous administration, from the time this Government came to office, we made it clear to Mr Kinch that we did not share the same approach, and that we wanted to preserve part of that overall site for the public of Barbados.
We were in no position to stop the sale, since Mr Kinch had the contractual right to specific performance of the contract, but we made it clear that we wanted to go in a completely different direction. These discussions took place before Mr Kinch did any work at Bay St., so he ought not to pretend now to be taken by surprise by our stance.
We are committed to re-acquiring two of three parcels of land at Bay St that were formerly vacant and freely utilised by generations of Barbadians. Barbadians must not be robbed of that right and whether car park or otherwise, we are intent on securing those rights for Barbadians. Some things are priceless.
We will be seeking to negotiate with Mr Kinch as a first option. If we cannot reach an agreement, then the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act will be relied upon for the acquisition of the properties and the Court will be asked to set the compensation that Mr Kinch will be due, which is also provided for under the Act.
What is especially concerning though, is the fact that every bit of work that Mr Kinch has done on that site has been without the permission of the Planning and Development Office (formerly the Town and Country Planning Department) or without the permission of Health authorities.
We cannot have one set of laws for the Medes and another set for the Persians. Mr Kinch is a very experienced businessman and would have known of the need to have the prior permission of the Planning office and of the Health agencies BEFORE embarking on the various works on Bay Street.
The Planning and Development Department has issued an Enforcement Notice as well as a Stop Notice to Mr Kinch in respect of what he was doing on the lands. And Mr Kinch has disregarded these notices and continued to do his business. How can we seek to enforce these various rules when it comes to small business operators and even homeowners, while turning a blind eye to what Mr Kinch has done and continues to do?
As for the small businesses that are there, some of these businesses are located on lands that are not even owned by Mr Kinch. A significant part of the lands adjoining the foreshore remain the property of the Government of Barbados. Mr Kinch knows this and still has located businesses on Government lands. (PR/SAT)