By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Opponents of the Abaco Club’s proposed Little Harbour marina project are arguing that the case “raises issues of great public importance”, especially whether the law mandates consultation on granting/leasing Crown Land to developers.

Crispin Hall, an attorney with Callenders & Co, the legal representatives for Responsible Development for Abaco (RDA), said the increasing number of “commercial developments taking place on Crown Land” meant it was in the public interest for the courts to determine the matter.

In particular, he argued that the judiciary needed to rule on whether section 54 of the Conveyancing and Law of Property Act imposed a duty on the minister responsible for Crown Land - who is currently the Prime Minister - to consult the public on all requests for grants/leases.

Mr Hall, in a January 25, 2017, affidavit, alleged: “RDA’s application for Judicial Review raises issues of great public importance that transcend the interests of the parties.

“By way of example, RDA refers to section 54 of the Conveyancing and Law of Property Act, which provides that the Minister responsible for Crown Lands may make grants and dispositions of Crown Land ‘for the beneficial interest of the said islands’ that is, the Bahamas. RDA avers that only by consultation could such beneficial interest be properly taken into account.

“Given the rising number of commercial developments taking place on Crown land, it is in the interests of the common good for the court to determine whether or not section 54 of the Conveyancing and Law of Property Act confers upon the Minister responsible for Crown Lands such a duty to consult as alleged.”

Crown Land featured prominently in the ‘Heads of Agreement talking points’ submitted to the Government’s Bahamas Investment Authority (BIA) in mid-2014, as part of the ultimately successful joint effort by Southworth Development and a group of homeowners to acquire the Abaco Club from Marriott Vacations Worldwide.

The Southworth/homeowner group, in documents filed with the Supreme Court as part of their battle with RDA, calls for Crown Land grants and leases to be issued to them “at nominal values” if such land is required for facilities such as beaches, irrigation and well-fields.

And, of particular importance to the RDA case, the proposal reads: “In the event that Crown Land is reasonably required in connection with the marina facilities at the Little Harbour and the proposed Lynard Cay marina, Crown grants will be issued to the buyer.”

The Southworth/homeowner group plan also demanded: “Buyer shall be given an exclusive 99-year lease of Sugar Cay for recreational use for an annual nominal fee (assumed to be $1 per year) and on other reasonable terms to be agreed.”

While Bahamians would have access to Sugar Cay for the lease’s duration, the Abaco Club owners also sought the Government’s agreement to sell or lease Crown Land to them if it was required for worker housing at the Winding Bay development site.

The Abaco Club’s ‘Heads of Agreement talking points’ are instructive for Bahamians, because they illustrate the extent and nature of the investment incentives sought by many foreign investors and developers. The concessions sought by the Southworth/homeowner group, though, are not unusual - and, more than likely, reflect the norm.

Besides being a highly emotive issue, Crown Land is a key tool for empowering Bahamians and increasing their ownership of economic development. Yet its allocation has frequently been mired in controversy.

Tex Turnquest, the former director of lands and surveys, was forced to resign from his post by ex-Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham when it was revealed that five parcels of Crown Land in Forbes Hill, Exuma, had been granted to his friends and family. Shortly after being granted, they were ‘flipped’ to foreign buyers for significant profits.

Tribune Business also previously revealed how the first Christie administration granted well-known Bahamian contractor and PLP supporter, Edward Penn, some 7.366 acres of prime commercial land on Gladstone Road for $221,000 in 2006. Yet the same property was turned into mortgage security for a $7 million loan within three months.

Crown Land was also at the centre of the recent controversy that erupted over the $2.1 billion Chinese agriculture/fisheries proposal, which suggested that up to 20,000 acres in Andros could be granted to the 100 companies involved.

Mr Ingraham, when in office in 2009, admitted that the awarding of Crown Land had been plagued by “irregularities, misapplication of policies and incidences of preferential treatment for family, friends and social acquaintances”.

He also placed the importance of Crown Land in context, noting that of the 3.45 million acres of available land in the Bahamas, around 2.5 million acres - some 72.5 per cent - belongs to the Crown Land. Of that latter figure, some 900,000 acres is wetland, leaving 1.6 million acres of dry Crown Land.

Prime Minister Perry Christie, too, recently admitted that there was “an urgent need” to resolve land-related issues via the National Development Plan.

“It also makes recommendations for improving the allocation of Crown Land to deserving Bahamians who have a serious and viable plan for putting the land to productive use,” Mr Christie said. “We also need to improve the transparency of all Crown Land matters.”

Mr Hall’s affidavit was made in response to the Abaco Club’s bid to intervene in RDA’s Judicial Review case, which is challenging the alleged failure by the Government and its agencies to properly consult with interested parties over the Little Harbour marina project, and granting of related permits and approvals.

The Abaco Club is also demanding that RDA lodge a $350,000 ‘security’ or bond that will cover its legal costs.