July 10th, 2009 Hon. Tillman Thomas Prime Minister Prime Minister’s Office Ministerial Complex St. George’s Hon. Prime Minister, Re Meeting of Tuesday, July 7th, 2009 Our grouping takes this opportunity, on behalf of ourselves and other members of the delegation representing the Willie Redhead Foundation, boat owners and members of the Lagoon community, to thank you for affording us a meeting with you to articulate our concerns and queries in respect of the Lagoon Park and the Camper and Nicholson marina development. The delegation was heartened by your assurances and commitments given to protect the Lagoon Park, and the rights of traditional users and the community. We also take this opportunity to clarify that Mr. George Grant of Grenada Broadcast was not part of our delegation. We were rather surprised by Mr. Grant’s presence and assumed that he may have been invited by your office. We did send out a press release advising of the meeting with you and promising to update the press on the outcomes of our meeting. It appears that Mr. Grant was the only one who interpreted this press release to be an invitation. Re Stakeholders Meeting of Thursday, July 9th, 2009: Hon. Prime Minister, we are also pleased to advise that members of the delegation and other members participated in the stakeholders meeting, convened by the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Community Development which was attended by both Minister Gilbert and Minister Quarless. However, this meeting was a disappointment since the presentations from both Minister Gilbert and Camper and Nicholson seemed to suggest that the concerns in respect of the traditional users and the community at large were not up for consideration but about the “green light” for the Camper and Nicholson project. It seems to us that there has been a blatant disregard for fishermen, water taxi operators and the community of Lagoon Road-Belmont by all departments of government and statutory bodies charged with making decisions regarding the implementation of the Camper and Nicholson development. Hon. Prime Minister, we take the opportunity to share with you some of the queries and issues which were raised at the meeting: o The ownership of the Lagoon Park and the Lagoon foreshore: The Hon. Minister was challenged to respond to questions regarding the ownership of the Lagoon Park and how it came to be sold to Camper and Nicholson. He did not respond to the questions, instead suggesting that we should forget the past and move forward. o The rights of ALL boat owners and fishermen to use the Lagoon as a safe haven during time of extreme events and to use the area as berthing and anchorage space: When asked for a comment, Mr. Justin Rennie, Chief Fisheries Officer, confirmed that these were also the concerns from a Fisheries perspective. He noted that fishermen required adequate space on the foreshore in order to facilitate repairs to their boats and that the maintenance of the integrity of the marine ecosystem was also a concern. It was further noted that the Lagoon was not only a safe haven for the fishermen and boat owners of the Lagoon community but also for the boat owners and fishermen along the entire west coast. o The approval of the project without prior consultation with the community and persons who would be most affected by the project. o The loss of community facilities and space without providing adequate, alternative arrangements. o The integrity of the Environmental Impact Assessment - if the EIA had been conducted properly, there would have been adequate public consultation and the issues pertaining to traditional users and the community would have been appropriately identified and addressed. o Location of Sewage Plant: - How could Camper and Nicholson marina locate its sewage plant in a residential area? o Disappointment that Camper and Nicholson did not do an electronic presentation to the meeting to show its plans for the development. The meeting did not arrive at any resolution in respect of the Lagoon Park and the way forward while the fishermen and boat owners declared their resolve that they would not be moved from the Lagoon Park. We wish to reiterate, Hon. Prime Minister, that at the heart of the contentious issue of the Lagoon Park is the issue of ownership of the Lagoon Park and the Lagoon foreshore. How can Camper and Nicholson be claiming ownership of the Park? Who/what entity sold it to them and how did this entity come to own the property? In the interest of good governance, transparency and accountability, this question must be answered. Hon. Prime Minister, once again we thank you for the opportunity to meet on this matter and we look forward to a follow-up meeting at your earliest convenience. We continue to urge your intervention in this matter to ensure that the queries are satisfactorily addressed and that the rights of the traditional users and the community of the Lagoon Road-Belmont are respected while Camper and Nicholson implements its project. Please accept, Hon. Prime Minister, our assurances of highest regard and esteem. Sincerely yours, Davidson Nedd For Citizens in Defence of Grenada’s Lands and Heritage.