Government to Hold Land Ownership Meeting on Anegada


~~Adz:Left~~ Roadtown, Tortola- The people of Anegada will get a chance this week to discuss the allocation of land when Government host a public meeting on the Anegada Development Project and Lands Allocation Task.

Premier Honourable Ralph T. O’Neal, OBE, who is also the District Representative for Anegada and Minister for Natural Resources, Honourable Omar Hodge will be among those attending the meeting scheduled for Thursday, August 28th at 6:30 p.m. at the Emile Dunlop Community Centre.

The meeting will among other things discuss Government’s selection process for the award of land titles to the people of Anegada  and the procedures for receiving titles to land earmarked for residential, commercial, industrial, institutional and tourism development. 

In a recent address, Minister for Natural Resources and Labour, Honourable Omar W. Hodge outlined  the events which led up to the land ownership meeting. He said the debate over land ownership on Anegada was long-standing but Government remained committed to finding a resolution.

“Today is a great day for all Anegadians.  It is the day you have anticipated since the mid 1800s when, according to our records, resolving the ownership of lands in Anegada first received serious consideration,” Minister Hodge said.

“Most Anegadians alive will tell you that Her Majesty Queen Victoria, by way of the then Governor in the form of an Ordinance, allotted the Anegada Lands to the Claimants of Anegada.  I can tell you proudly that under my stewardship as Minister for Natural Resources and Labour in the late 1980s, I commissioned a report by John Douglas Barrymore Renwick which was received in 1988 and which has been the basis for the allocations we now pursue.”  Hon. Hodge further stated.

The distribution of land titles to Anegadians is expected to begin by the end of this year.  “Government has found a solution to deliver to our brothers and sisters and fellow citizens of Anegada, titles to the land that has been in their possession and their families’ possession for a couple hundred years.  This has been a long process and a great struggle and I am pleased that finally, there is light at the end of the tunnel,” Honourable Hodge said.

In addition to the Premier and Honourable Hodge, senior government officials from the Premier’s Office, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Labour, Land Registry, and Town and Country Planning will attend Thursday’s meeting.

Similar public meetings will be held in the United States Virgin Islands and New York.
Anegada is the second largest and northernmost island in the British Virgin Islands measuring 13 sq. miles.  Its highest point is approximately 28ft above sea level with and provides homes to approximately 289 residents. 

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Labour serves as Government’s focal point for policy operation and coordination for all matters pertaining to Government’s natural resources.  It also administers Government’s policy on land related matters and provides for the efficient registration of land.