By FAY SIMMONS

Tribune Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

Plans for a seawall as part of a luxury resort development on Sampson Cay have ignited a clash between developers and community advocates in Exuma, with critics citing environmental harm and secrecy, and the developer firmly denying those claims.

Save Exuma Alliance (SEA), a coalition of local residents and environmental advocates in Exuma, is voicing serious concerns over the potential environmental impact and lack of transparency surrounding a seawall for the Rosewood Exuma project on Sampson Cay.

SEA said the seawall, which was revealed in the Environmental Management Plan (EMP), released on July 21, for the proposed Rosewood Exuma Resort, is “larger than many breakwaters built for cruise ship ports throughout The Bahamas” and suggested plans for the massive structure were kept hidden from the public.

“This will be a huge structure,” said Staniel Cay Adventures boat captain Keiran Miller. “It will change tidal flows, shrink nearby beaches and damage marine life. The fact that this was hidden until now makes us wonder, what else are they keeping secret?”

SEA maintains the structure was not presented during previous community consultations and says the broader development — including more than 70 buildings, two mega-yacht marinas, and generators — is too large for a small cay like Sampson.

The alliance said the seawall and service dock, to be constructed on the North Bay of Sampson Cay, would damage the vulnerable ecosystem in the area and called for developers to redesign the development to be more sensitive to the environment.

“This latest news of a seawall that would forever change the currents and alter the beaches and shorelines in the area is yet another reason why this should not go ahead. It is not too late to rethink the design of the resort and downsize it to utilise the deep water on the southern end of the island and to be more appropriate for the size of the community,” said SEA.

Yntegra Group, however, firmly denies allegations of secrecy and insists that the seawall and service dock have been properly disclosed and assessed. Developers pushed back, calling the claims “false and misleading” and defended the project’s environmental integrity and public consultation process.

“The assertion that this structure was ‘hidden until now’ is patently false. The seawall and associated service dock have been disclosed in official regulatory filings since March 19, 2025, and Yntegra formally published the revised document once instructed by the Department of Environmental Planning and Protection (DEPP) on May 21, 2025, as part of the project’s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process,” said Yntegra.

Yntegra said the current seawall location was chosen after multiple redesigns, initiated at the request of Bob Coughlin, developer of the neighboring Turtlegrass Resorts.

The company said it voluntarily relocated the dock four times further from Turtlegrass property — 1,200 feet away instead of the original 300 — to accommodate concerns. This change, Yntegra said, added $2–3m in additional engineering costs.

“This relocation, developed in close consultation with DEPP and environmental engineers, required necessary adjustments to the engineering of the seawall and dock and came at a significant cost increase of $2–3m to Yntegra.”

Yntegra also highlighted its efforts to involve the community and follow environmental protocols, pointing to public consultations, meetings with local officials, and engagement with DEPP.

The developer said they have launched employment and entrepreneurial initiatives, including the screening of 150 Bahamian workers and plans for local businesses such as a café, bakery, barbershop, and Captain’s Lounge within the resort.

“It is both disingenuous and unfair for Turtlegrass Resorts and its affiliates to demand concessions from Yntegra in the spirit of cooperation and only for SEA to weaponise those accommodations as if they were new or hidden developments,” said Yntegra.

“Yntegra has consistently sought to be a transparent and respectful participant in the community and regulatory process — participating in numerous public consultations, community meetings, working with local government, and voluntarily responding to community input.

“Yntegra continues to believe that the Rosewood and Turtlegrass projects can coexist. However, repeated public misrepresentations and misleading attacks make it increasingly difficult to maintain that spirit of collaboration. We call on all stakeholders to act in truth and good faith, in service of the Exuma communities we all care about.”

Meanwhile, SEA continues to push for the project to be halted or significantly redesigned, calling it inappropriate for a small, environmentally fragile cay like Sampson.

“Yntegra’s proposal would transform Sampson Cay from a pristine island into a dense, overdeveloped destination totally out of place in scale and design,” SEA said. “It is not too late to rethink the design of the resort and downsize it to utilise the deep water on the southern end of the island.”

A petition launched by SEA to stop environmental clearance for the project has already garnered more than 6,300 signatures.