St James PC to consider Dead End Beach issue
The St James Parish Council will consider a plan seeking permission to develop the Dead End Beach at its Physical Planning Committee next Monday. This follows a stop order it issued last month after discovering that there was no plan in place to support the development activities.
“On Dec 5 (last year) the council observed activities happening at that venue,” he explained. “A container was put on the beach which the Council interpreted as either evidence of a development or intention to do a development.
The first action of the council (on discovering there was no evidence of a plan) was to issue a stop order,” said chairman of the council and mayor of Montego Bay, Charles Sinclair.
A plan which will be considered on Monday, was subsequently submitted to the council.
Dead End Beach, which borders the Sangster International Airport at the end of Gloucester Avenue in Montego Bay, has been utilised as a public beach facility for many years.
However, patrons have been expressing concern that plans to develop the popular recreational facility would eliminate free access to one of the resort city’s few public spaces.
Many families who turned up at the landmark property during the holidays were warned that they would soon have to pay to access the facility, while vendors were told they would not be allowed to peddle their wares at the popular beach.
The residents say men on the beach interrupted their holiday fun by repeatedly pointing to a fence being erected along the beach wall and warning that the beach would no longer be free to the public.