For almost a decade, the Placencia residents have enjoyed the boardwalk area - it's where the village council hosts their events, like Lobster Fest, and where villagers - and tourists - go to swim on Sunday's. It's a pristine beachfront area, complete with white sand and glistening sea.
But now, the residents and the council have been barred from using it.
That's because the area is part of a privately owned parcel, and the owner sold it about four months ago. The new owner then sent a letter to the village council telling them to cease and desist from using the land. So now these villagers have lost the centerpiece for all their activities.
And while the council has accepted that the land is privately owned, they are asking that the government assist them in reclaiming the .4 ("point four") acres of land that they had previously gotten permission to build the boardwalk on.
The village chairman, Warren Garbutt, spoke to us today via Zoom.
Voice of: Warren Garbutt, Chairman, Placencia Village
"This parcel was recently sold, it has been private property, or most of it for many years. The property or the area that was used by the village council is an area that was an accreted portion of the property so over years it built up and the village council as well as the public just started using this property especially more recently since sargassum has been an issue on the beach. This area is a very unique area, it's in the Placencia harbor area so it's protected by the Placencia Caye and we don't get a lot of sargassum on that beach so it's a very important area like I said for people who visit and want to swim, we don't get sargassum there, and as well it's a perfect area for village functions."
"The land was recently sold to foreign interest and the reason why it became a problem is because the village council received a letter to cease and desist using the property so we weren't allowed to do any functions, we weren't allowed to even access it to pick up garbage, we had no access to it, so that is when it became an issue. We have tried for years and years, previous government, to address the issue, applying for the accreted land, however, we weren't successful. More recently, we have met with the deputy prime minister, minister of natural resources, and his team at the lands department, the council in Placencia met with him recently and it's been a positive response, we are following up with them and hopefully with some favorable response because it is a property that should be for Placencia and for all those who visit Placencia to enjoy."
"We're talking about the property that is 1.8 acres, what was sold to the new owners, 1.8 acres. Previously the land was 1.4 acres, the .4 acres is really what the council is asking for and the area that has the best beach in the area, so it's only .4 acres, it's not the entire property that the council is asking for."
However, contrary to what Garbutt said, according to the CEO in the Ministry of Natural Resources, Paul Thompson, the entire plot of land has always been privately owned going back to a title from the 1800's - and that includes the .4 acres that has long been used by the community. Thompson explained that the reserve that was public once existed, but has since eroded over the years, which had forced the residents to use the private land.
The CEO added, though, that they are planning to visit the village to see how they can help with investigating alternatives.
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