A date has been set for trial and the new environmental group continues fundraising in the potentially precedent-setting judicial review of a planned resort and golf course on Beef Island.            

The trial will begin on March 4, according to a representative of the developer.

The Virgin Islands Environmental Council (VIEC) is claiming the agreement for the 600-unit million dollar development is illegal because it will damage a marine protected area protected in the 2003 Fisheries Regulations. The group was granted the right to challenge the development in August of last year.

Dr. Quincy Lettsome said the environmental council is raising money – hopefully $20,000 to $25,000 – for legal expenses. The council has secured the services of Stephen Hockman Q.C. a top environmental and planning lawyer based in the United Kingdom, according to a letter from the group.

“We started an account to raise a defense fund . . . there are many people interested in making donations, quite a large number who are against the way things are being developed . . . and there are plenty of people who want to help,” Lettsome said.

The environmental council has a strong case, he said, and ‘there’s no reason why we [VIEC] shouldn’t win’, according to Hockman who was quoted in a fund-raising letter. The Government will be represented by the Attorney General, and developer Inter Isle Quorum will be represented by – Gerard Farara Q.C., as a party interested in the case.

Cheques can be made out to the Virgin Islands Environmental Council, and can be mailed to this address:

If the VIEC loses the case, members say it will set a dangerous precedent concerning the development of protected areas. The decision to grant planning permission would also allow the Government to violate its own laws.

Spokesman for Inter Isle Quorum Alastair Abrehart counters that the Virgin Islands needs new development to stay competitive in the tourism market and that the development will be environmentally sensitive. The Government has already cut the outer harbour from the project and reduced the size of the development from 680 units down to 600, he said.

Another fallacy used against the resort is that it will develop all the land it owns. Abrehart said a third of the land owned on Beef Island will be left as it is, a third will go towards the hotel and resort facilities and the another will contain the golf course.

Abrehart said the environmental management plan still must be approved, and that the developers will be using environmentally-friendly construction methods on the golf course. He also said that the Hans Creek Fisheries Area has already been compromised by overflow from a nearby Irish drain, and the developers would re-engineer several salt ponds to help them function better.

Environmentally-friendly golf courses have come a long way in the past few years, Abrehart said, and several measures will be taken to protect the fisheries. The land will be graded to drain away from the fisheries area, drainage systems will be re-designed, the tees will be lined so chemicals will not leak into the groundwater when irrigated and grasses will be chosen that do not need much chemical fertiliser.

“People think there will be fertiliser pouring into Hans creek, but we’re going to use the best environmental practices to develop the golf course,” he said.

He said that the Government has studied the issue, and a golf course and mega-yacht marina are both needed in the Territory. All hotels and locals can benefit from the golf course, and the 15-slip luxury marina will allow these high-end cruisers to buy provision on Tortola, rather than simply visit here and go somewhere else to buy supplies.  The golf course and resort have been on the books since 1994, and he pointed out that a golf course is a requirement of the landholder’s license.

What it comes down to, Abrehart said, is how the property is managed and what abatement measures are put into place. Inter Isle Quorum has a stake in keeping the ecology protected for their guests, and Abrehart said the company will do everything it can to protect the area.

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