(Real News Antigua) Senator Alex Browne is refuting claims by the Development Control
Authority (DCA) that the access road leading to Laurys Bay is
private property.
Browne says the roadway has been in existence for decades, even
prior to the foreign developer purchasing lands in the area.
In a recent video, Senator Browne highlighted the fact that the
access road leading to Laurys Bay had been fenced off, thereby
restricting public access to the community beach.
But, in a quick response, the DCA stated that the road was part of the
developer’s private property and he had the right to fence it in. The
agency also claimed that the access road did not lead to a beach –
but to a rocky area on the coastline and a jetty.
It was further noted that the land owner has undertaken the
construction of a new road adjacent to his property to facilitate
access to a different beach.
Meanwhile, the United Progressive Party (UPP) senator says the
original route was the only means of accessing Laurys Bay. It has
been used since he was a child, he says, and had been utilized by his
father and grandfather, as well.
What appears to have happened, Browne says, is that the land was
sold without taking the beach-access road into account. Hence, a
situation has now been created in which a family has to cross the
private property to get to their home.
Browne also says the DCA’s claim that the access road leads only to a
rocky coastline and a jetty – and not a beach – is a falsehood.
He says there is an area nearby for swimming, in addition to a jetty
that has been used by fishermen for decades, and some rocky areas.
Senator Browne says the blocking of the road will affect the
livelihood of some families who depend on fishing to make a living.
