No such thing as a ‘private’ beach, Symister says, noting that all residents have the ‘right’ to access, according to 1999 law

No such thing as a ‘private’ beach, Symister says, noting that all
residents have the ‘right’ to access, according to 1999 law
 
As the debate rages on about the lack of public access to the Nation’s
beaches, attorney Leon Chaku Symister says that a radical change –
demonstrated by people taking a stand – is required to end this
worrisome issue.
 
As he recalls recent reports that a chain had been put in place to
restrict access to the beach at Dickenson Bay, Symister
says an administration was not put in place to encourage
homeowners and hoteliers to limit citizens’ access to beaches.

What is taking place under the Browne Administration was not
tolerated under the United Progressive Party (UPP) Government,
Symister says, and this was demonstrated when a former minister
removed the barrier from a private property that was preventing
locals from accessing a beach.

That minister was MP Chanlah Codrington.

Symister, the UPP spokesperson on legal matters, says the people
must take stronger action to ensure their rights are not trampled on
and to preserve their right to beach access.
 

He notes, too, that the designation of “private beachfront properties”
does not override locals’ right of access to the beach.

That was UPP Spokesperson on Legal Matters Leon Chaku
Symister.
 
Citizens and residents of this country have the “right” of access, the
attorney declares, since there is no such thing as a private beach
from which the public can be excluded. 
 
That right of access is contained in the Development Control Act of
1999, he notes.

Meanwhile, Symister says that every police officer should
understand that no land-owner can prevent the public from
accessing the beach.
 
Further, he says that the alternative – changing the route by which
people access the beach – is wrong. A prior access point cannot now
be turned into a foot path, he says, and calls the idea “nonsensical.”