No vendor has permission to sell at Long Bay Beach — Hastings
Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources, and Climate Change, Mervyn Hastings, said no vendor has been granted permission to sell goods at Long Bay Beach at Beef Island.
Hastings’ comments come in response to claims by local vendor, Sylvan Penn, that he was being forced to move from his current location at the beach after investing heavily over the past few years to develop his business operations there.
Hastings, while discussing the government’s beach management plan on JTV recently, said only two vendors were given written permission in the past to sell at the location.
He explained that all the vendors, except for Penn, currently have temporary permission from the government to remain on the beach as the government is going through its beach development plan.
Vendors were asked to sign an agreement with the government for this to happen, but Penn refused.
Without the signed document from the government allowing vendors to be on the beach temporarily, Hastings said they would not be able to apply and receive permission to sell food or alcohol at the beach.
The Deputy Secretary shared that the beach management plan, which is currently accessible to residents online, received public consultation and residents were able to share their feedback.
“Within the last three or four years, every single vendor on Beef Island was there illegally. Not one had permission, because the two I mentioned early on, their permission had expired and they were not renewed,” Hastings said.
He further denied that the vendors at the location were unaware of the government’s beach plan and that they were not consulted along the way.
“They had the opportunity to see the plan and make the options and their views and the concerns to the plan [known],” Hastings said.
He added: “Mr Penn was there to almost every single public consultation meeting we had and he voiced his opinion when he was in the meetings. You can go back, you can roll the tape, and you’ll see him there asking questions. Whether or not he agreed or disagreed with it, he was there and he was very well aware of the plan.”
He encouraged persons to visit the government’s website and get familiar with the plan if they are interested.
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careful how beaches are “developed”. visitors want to experience natural beauty, not commercial vendors interrupting the atmosphere. too bad Smugglers at the other end is getting ruined if not already.
please protect Long Bay as one of the last natural beaches left without tourist interference.
Virgin Islands must live and earn. Quit this bourgeoise nonsense Hastings.
Easy to quack like a duck when you got a cushy government job. Why not try being a vendor for a day nuh! See reality for yourself’ You sound like those silly snobs who hate cruise ship guests.
Tell hastings go sit down leave beef island alone
Vendor interference on beaches is much worse than tourists just sitting on a beach!
So if any vendor there illegally get the police to haul their ass out, too many here think that laws and rules do no apply to them.
backwards Evah
Mr. Hastings,
Does Government Beach Management Plan address locals access to ALL beaches including those that have in the past obstructed access to by white migrants to the BVI?
Please answer Mr. Hastings.
If the answer is no, then this is a more urgent matter and one requiring redress in the Government Beach Management Plan.
What’s with the need for your racist response? ALL beach access should be protected, it’s not just (in your words) white migrants that have blocked access!
all beaches are accessible by sea. Not all beaches are public. You cannot force someone to allow their property to become a public thoroughfare because some people in the community wishes it was so.
Rules are rules. Mr. Penn seems to have an issue with everything. I was there recently with my friend visiting from UK and we sat on one of the beach chairs in front of an illegal establishment and he came over and verbally accosted me and my friend to move our f*******selves if we don’t pay him $10 each. We had literally just sat down and was going to buy a drink from his bar but his attitude turned us off. We got up and left.
Sometimes people don’t realise how their behaviour is a turn off.
I am glad Mr. Hastings set the record straight.
My family and I traveled from the US and encountered a similar experience with a Mr. Penn.
Agree he has a really bad attitude. However, kicking off the beach now is unfair, why now addressing this issue, when he erected the building the 1st day you should have put a stop to it. He has made several changes over a period a time and you want to just knock it down. If you guys were doing your work from the begin. This could be avoided.
The capitalist activities and the by-products of capitalism, greed and greed, must be over bearingly monitored and policed, managed and promoted for long term sustainability, or those resources will be degraded to ghetto ststus.
It is no wonder Little Dix Bay beach has remaind in pristine despite heavy continuous population use? Proper management, support and upkeep are the reasons.
Look at thedifference bettwen it and the conditions and esthetics thereof at Head of the Bay in VG,for example. Poor management and low pride and esteem for our most treasured resources.
A change with foresight at the head is needed.
@ Ghetto status
How many locals go to LDB beach including you?
Head of the bay has easy access and thus the locals tend to use it most.
The investment club / VG yacht harbor sewage is pumped into the drain alongside the port building for years. It was reported to conservation dept. and nothing was ever done to stop it.
The last time when it got so bad the government issued notices to close the beach and not to be used until further notice. They all involved with the destruction of the environment, Then bawling about climate change????? The biggest scam of the century.
Yes indeed, i do chose to swim there wnerever it is possible and i feel like it.
But the issue to your worded respone is it represents very low comprehensio of the printed word.
In fact, you are in direct agreement with my positions. That is clear.
So, the problem is either low comprehension skills, an inbility to correctly express, self one’s ideas, an opportunity you have used to self project your human ills and short comings upon someone else.
“Can we all get along?” But, this person will not be your Rodney King in the physical space.
Not one vender, NOT ONE, will be fined or made to move and you all know it
Hastings go sit your behind down so how the jamaicans up there selling and the vincy man like up there is theirs ? You even cant go certain part on that beach without them harrassing u but their spot
Mr. Penn things that Beef Island beach belongs to him, and he can do what he wants. But nothing happens before its time. Let’s see what he’s going to do now.
He greedy a** probably wanting the government to buy him out.
Get the backhoe to move this fool
NDP gave the hon for #8 family alone to operate on the beach when they were in power and that caused an uproar, people decided thet have to eat too. So they went and set up their little stall. Until it now become a good family income. So when they stop these people and take food off their table. How that is good. It is testimony to our weak leader. They were trying that in Barbados and Mia Motley say to them no one dear touched those vendors because a lot of Barbados Elites were cared for and educated by their mother and grand mother being vendors..How can Barbadian forget.’real leader’
Stopped at Mr Penns establishment around Covid times. Nobody was there and no cruise ships were coming to the island. My husband and I ordered a drink and sat on a lounge chair. He came over and wanted us to pay for the chairs! We said no thanks and left and won’t be back (we are residents).
So u one-sided y you afraid to put up my comment
News Headline:No vendor has permission to sell at Long Bay Beach-Hastins
Hastins: Hastings, while discussing the government’s beach management plan on JTV recently, said ONLY TWO vendors were given written permission in the past to sell at the location.
WHICH/WHAT IS THE TRUTH HERE? Get it right folks.
Read properly. He said the permission for those 2 vendors expired and were not renewed.
Mervyn please study our beloved Brewers Bay. Two illegal bars built on the beach near new bathrooms.let us not ruin another beach.
The situation at Smugglers beach resembles that described at Long Bay Beef Island
At present about two-thirds of the length of the beach is occupied by two vendors, who sell drinks and food, and who place chaises and umbrellas on the sand.
The BVI Beach Policy clearly states that such vendors require and need to display a trade license, a liquor license and a food handlers’ certificate. There is no evidence on display of any of these:
“All permission for vending and commercial activities should be displayed or be made available for inspection by an officer of any agency responsible for implementing the policy. “
The policy also states that no chaises may be placed on the beach unless a customer requests them, and that they need to be removed after use:
“No equipment or beach chairs should remain on the sandy area of the beach unless they are in use. All items not in use must be immediately removed from the sandy area and not stored.”
There is an additional problem at Smugglers: with increasing frequency large power boats come in and anchor close to shore. This endangers swimmers and creates water and air pollution. This entry of boats is also contrary to beach policy that prohibits such activity in established swimming areas:
“ Boats are not allowed in the established swim zones. Boats should not be dragged onto the sand for docking purposes or to drop passengers. “
All these activities need to be monitored and controlled by the relevant government authorities. In the absence of such action, the situation at Smugglers will continue to deteriorate, and make this beautiful beach even less enjoyable for visitors and residents.
It seems to me, that every beach on Tortola is about beach chairs, bars, vendors, and all sorts of eye-soaring, peace-disturbing elements, that destroy the beauty of beaches!
People go to the beach for enjoyment, relaxation, and the pristinity of the environment!
And we talk about “NATURES”, little secrets?
What is so “natural”, about all these unnatural elements?
It is high time, that regulatory legislation, and continued enforcement, be placed on the operation of vendors, chairs, and the likes on these beaches, or else, the very essence of our natural beauty-the very thing that causes visitors to come here, will be destroyed!
Beef island long bay beach nice people come too enjoy the water and sun find a next spot of vendors.
I really don’t care for development at the beaches in the B.V.I. “focus” on roads please.
As we all know, our constitution and governing principles in democracy was given to us and is and is anti-black so it always maintain poverty of black people, look at all the wars white people fight to steal people resources and put their people in business corporation ownership, if it was white UK resident 90% the population of the BVI long bay beach would have been buzzing with shops, the system does not allow a coconut harvest brain to think for it’s people empowerment, jobs should be provided for them as the slave field did and not entrepreneurship, don’t forget a coconut brown outside and white inside.
The biggest problem in bvi is non enforcement of rules. Why wait until the horse has started to race to try to bring him back. The time to enforce the rules was when the vendors first put up their stuff. Now you want to reign them in. Not just Beef Island but everywhere else. Why don’t we enforce the laws. Look at the scooter riders. Look at so many lives could have been saved had the police crack down on them in the first place. If you move Mr Penn you have to go on ALL the beaches and remove all the illegal squatters. But ha ha. Good luck with that. Politics is ruining this place but we too daft to see it.