Public Meeting to Discuss Development of Wickham's Cay II

~~Adz:Right~~Roadtown, Tortola: Wednesday, August 13 – Residents of the Territory will get an opportunity to discuss the mixed-use development, Water’s Edge at Wickham’s Cay II when the project developers in collaboration with the Town and Country Planning Department host a public meeting on Thursday, August 14th.

The project is designed to “provide a mixed-use commercial community comprising commercial offices, retail space, luxury and middle-income residential facilities, hotel space and parking garage to complement existing facilities on Wickham’s Cay II as well as the general Road Town area.”

Chief Planner, Mr. Louis Potter told the Department of Information and Public Relations that “under the Physical Planning Act, when an application is submitted, the authority will inform developers that they need to conduct relevant studies and develop the terms of reference.” 

Mr. Potter added that “very early in the discussion we tell them to let the community know what they are going to do and the studies that will be conducted to determine impact on the community and the benefits to be derived.”

Thursday’s meeting will therefore outline the scope of the project and identify the studies to be undertaken to determine the benefits of the projects, its potential impact on the community and measures to mitigate these impacts.

The terms of reference for the Environmental Impact Assessment for the project were presented to the Town and Country Planning Department at a meeting in April this year.

The Chief Planner noted that “after the studies are completed, the developers will come back and explain to the community all about the project, the findings of their investigations and the proposals they will make to mitigate the potential impacts.”

The Water’s Edge development project will be conducted in four phases and will entail the construction of commercial offices, retail, luxury and middle-income residential facilities and hotel space, encompassing a total area of 289,000 square feet. The 135,000 square foot parking garage will provide parking space for 400 vehicles.  

The site on which the development would occur is currently occupied by the Tortola Yacht Services boatyard. However, this facility and its ancillary businesses will be relocated to accommodate the new development.

Thursday’s public meeting to discuss the private sector project will be held at the Prospect Reef Conference Room, starting at 7:00 p.m.

The Town and Country Planning Authority is the government body charged with regulating infrastructural development in the Territory. Its mission is to ensure sustainable development by promoting the wise use of land, effective communication systems and facilitate the harmonious change while enhancing the Territory’s strong cultural heritage.