The approval was given following a spirited community meeting on Sunday, March 6, 2022, at the Carrot Bay Seventh-day Adventist Church Youth Centre.

The existing sea defence wall was compromised during the 2017 weather events, resulting also in roadways being severely damaged.

Scope of Project

Upon completion, the five-phase project will have the ability to withstand category five hurricanes.

It will consist of a gravity wall and boulder revetment that is expected to protect lives and livelihoods from the rising sea levels and major weather events.

The project will be a total of 2,159 feet in length and 42 feet wide. It will commence from the D' Coal Pot Restaurant and end at Fortune Ghut. Phase 1 will be the first 500 ft of revetment, beginning from D' Coal Pot Restaurant.

Importantly, residents and visitors would be able to access the sea by using the steps that will be constructed specifically for that purpose. The steps will be placed every 500ft or between the different phases of the project.

Deputy Director at the Public Works Department and a Civil Engineer Mr Kurt Hodge, who presented the designs, commented: “So when the project is finished it is supposed to look like a metropolitan roadway system on the coastal area.”

“So you should be able to go there in the evening time and walk from one end to the next for those of you guys exercising and doing all that stuff or just want to go out and see and enjoy the ocean.”

Mixed reviews 

Following his presentation, the discussion that followed saw residents having mixed reviews on the proposed work.

One resident, Pete Smith contended that while there is a need to upgrade the sea wall, the project being proposed will effectively take away what people love about Carrot Bay.

“The sea wall may be all that we need. I am just saying I live here in Carrot Bay and I don’t want to see the frontage of Carrot Bay destroyed, and I know we have to come up with a solution that works for the pocket as well as for the people,” he stated.

Another female resident said she supported the proposed works.

“We need to look at it holistically, not just the shoreline being destroyed but there are people on the other side of that shoreline. Some were affected [by the 2017 hurricanes] worse than the others and we need to keep all that in mind as we try to figure out how we can fix what’s out there. We need to keep everybody in mind, how it would affect all of us, not just a few,” she said.

She then stated that she appreciated the effort of the government in relation to the project because she did not want to live through another Hurricane Irma to be exposed to the elements again.

She said she supported the proposed works and said the cries from residents should not be about the shorelines “but about the lives of people.”

'Let’s find common ground'- Premier fahie

After hearing the concerns of residents, Premier and Minister of Finance Hon Andrew A. Fahie (R1) urged residents to find common ground.

“I would hate to know that 20 years later we missed the boat and nothing gets done here again. Right now the money is available, everything is ready. If we need to make some adjustments, fine.”

He reminded residents that the last time the project was introduced, he was ridiculed for not doing environmental impact assessment (EIA), and now, “every research that could possibly be done, is done.”

He continued: “What I am saying is let’s find the common ground. Something has to be done. To get an omelette you gotta crack some eggs. Whatever it is we have to sit down and look at it, I just want us to find a solution.”

The Premier reminded residents that more hurricanes with strengths like Irma will be coming because climate change has changed many things and so the territory must prepare.

He then suggested that the project be discussed phase by phase with residents and it was agreed by residents that the first phase should commence.