Email

Print

There’s another environmental controversy simmering on San Pedro – and this time it’s about a road that a developer David Mitchell wants to build on Northern Ambergris – a road that would connect the east and west coasts of the island. It’s a partnership with the Town Council which wants to open the area for a number of housing areas, but the developer Grand Belize Estates is the one putting down the road – which will also lead to their development on the west side of the island.

That’s has meant sending some very heavy equipment north of the island to lay the road through wetland areas; that equipment has also had to traverse a lagoon. The developer says its swamp, conservationists on the caye say it’s a mangrove ecosystem and more importantly it’s used by guides who take tourists to catch tarpon, bonefish and permit on areas known as flats. And those conservationists add that they haven’t been adequately consulted – which is what the fuss is all about. They told us more today.

Billy Leslie, Chairman
“We are not against the road access, we are against that development is going on and as promised by him, no plan has been presented to the public.”

Elito Arceo, Co-Chair
“We haven’t seen the plan yet and that is our point. We want it I stressed it to the public that we are not against the road itself but we have seen no plan whatsoever for how it is going to be; where the piles are going to be, where is the road exactly going to be. And if you plunge through all the mangroves you are going to kill it. That is not exactly a way that we see actually going forward.”

Kainie Manuel, San Pedro Sun
“Now you guys have been working closely, or so they claim, with the developer. You had a previous meeting, now after that previous meeting you guys stated you hadn’t met. How did that meeting end the last time?”

Elito Arceo,
“Well that meeting actually ended with a developer stating to Mr. Panton to meet with us to bring the plan which of course we are still waiting on and as you can from today’s press conference, he still doesn’t have it.”

Kainie Manuel,
“Now you guys do agree that the road has to be constructed at some point in time. What do you guys see as the proper planning for this road?”

Elito Arceo,
“Well I can’t see no plan, until we see a plan. If you’re going to put bridges, where exactly are the bridges going to go. It is a very very sensitive area. If you block it off and you put some culverts, you will kill off exactly what this island depends on.”

Leslie and Arceo gave those comments at a consultation held by the development’s expert today,. He is hyrdrologist Frank Panton. He held an hour and a half long press conference and consultation on San Pedro this morning. He explained that every precaution is being taken to do things the right way and that while the heavy equipment passing through caused a disturbance in the lagoon, it caused no damage. Leslie vehemently disagreed with him.

Billy Leslie,
“You say disturbance I am telling you your classification is wrong. It is damaged and I will bring qualified people to prove to you that it is damaged and not your disturbance. But a disturbance will then be multiplied to a damage because there is movement within those lagoons.”

Frank Panton, Consultant
“But we’re doing nothing more, we’re done.”

Billy Leslie,
“You’ve done the damage and you will do more because you are not making the proper steps.”

Frank Panton,
“I can assure you have no clue of what the word damage means. I have photographed the proof that there was no damage. I have presented the photographs, you saw them.

Instead of sending up a hue and cry at every moment they could possibly do, I would expect that they would call us, sit down and talk with us and let us know what they think is wrong. We will try and let them know what we think they think is not as wrong as they think it is. But at least we could communicate instead of frightening everybody and causing mischief and the mischief I am talking about is the fact that only a week ago, the barge was getting in place with the equipment, someone or some people came out, used foul language at the contractor and his workers, damaged the equipment by cutting the hydraulic hoses the electrical cables, and therefore that put one extra day for the work to take place. We wanted to do it as quickly as possible so we had to refurbish our equipment.

Threats have been made, damage has been done, illegal activity has been taken against the company that is carrying out the work and we need to find a quick way to let people know that people are telling you something is going on and that is not so. We aren’t saying that we are not doing what we are being accused of.”

Billy Leslie,
“What we’re saying present it in writing, present your findings, so that we can have because there are many qualified people like yourself and let’s put it and let’s see if that is what we’re finding. We can’t go with just what you say. We have to put it together with other qualified people just like we do when Pepe makes his presentations. David Mitchell made us a promise to bring to the public before he touched anything and that is why the fishermen is upset because he is going there to ketch bonefish one morning and a barge is dredging and digging all over the place where he has to pass.”

Frank Panton,
“If he is going to sit down over yonder and wait to work instead of sitting down and working together, well I think we will always be confrontational like this.”

Billy Leslie,
“I have to get confrontational. That is my livelihood. It should be my kids’ livelihood, it should be yours.”

Our thanks to Kainie Manuel at the San Pedro Sun for assistance with that story. Panton explained that the equipment is still out there and he wants to bring it back. Arceo and Leslie asked for a two week extension but there is no word on whether that has been granted.