Kings Beach Going, Going, Gone?

"The saga surrounding the sale of the now ruined King’s Beach Hotel is about to come to a happy, but incomplete ending.

In an arrangement being managed by Scotiabank Barbados, a deal for the acquisition of the St. Peter property for $32 million is to be sealed on September 13, Barbados TODAY has confirmed.

But investigations also revealed that in a new twist to the long running affair, three non nationals resident in Barbados, Anthony Reid, Michael L. Challis, and Marcus J.F. Clarke, who allegedly pulled out of a May 30, 2008 contract to buy the property for almost $65 million, will now be sued for about $33 million in damages.

This, sources connected to the deal said, would be pursued next month on completion of the current sale to Atlantic Paradise Limited, which owns The Great House, an upscale “two storey plantation style home” located to the south of the hotel.

These developments were confirmed by King’s Beach Hotel owner Martin Richards, who said he was happy there would finally be some closure to the matter, and that like his neighbours he was disappointed to see the hotel fall into disrepair, a matter he said was not his responsibility since he had turned responsibility over to the bank so a new buyer could be found.
Richards said he was aware of the sale of the hotel property by next month, and that while the property would have to be knocked down, he was uncertain if previous plans to construct 32 luxury condos would be continued by the new owners  ..."

Read more: Barbados TravelAdvisor • View topic - Kings Beach Going, Going, Gone???:

'via Blog this'

You probably will not see this in the glossy Barbados tourism literature ...

Kings Beach 08-28-11 (click in top portion of image to enlarge)

... but the above picture of tourists scotching on what's left of Kings Beach at low tide downdrift of the groynes in Lower Road View, St. Peter (southernmost groyne visible lower left) tells the sad tale of the economic and environmental demise of tourism in the Road View/Mullins Bay area. Since Kings Beach Hotel failed and Sandridge Hotel was sold to the condo developers the beach between Sandridge and Mullins Beach that once bustled with tourists has for all practical purposes become a tourist ghost town.

The 57 new condos at St. Peter's Bay which were "officially opened" about a year and a half ago are almost always empty or very close to it. It has even come to the attention of this blogger that a British family which booked a vacation there recently cancelled and stayed elsewhere on the island when it came to their attention that they would have been the only guests on the entire compound during their stay.

Even more sad is the fact that the three massive groynes constructed to build up the beach for the condo owners are now contributing to the hastening of the destruction of the beaches downdrift of them including King Beach immediately to the south as pictured above. It is now impossible to walk the beach between the former Sandrige Hotel and Mullins Beach at high tide and very difficult even at low tide. What we have in Road View Road/Mullins is an unmitigated environmental and economic disaster that getting worse by the minute and no one is addressing it.

See also: Save Our Shoreline

Click here for more Kings Beach photos

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British Tourists Injured In Bus/car Accident In Road View/Mullins

(click in top portion of image to enlarge)

Several British tourists and at least one local were injured today and taken away by ambulance from the scene of an accident in Upper Road View, St. Peter involving a Transport Board bus and a rental car in which the tourists were occupants.  The injured local was a pregnant female who was a passenger aboard the bus.  The accident occurred around twelve noon in front of the Texaco service station in Road View which is located near a slight bend in the road which has been hazardous to both pedestrians and motorists, as this blog has reported in the past.  This blogger's thoughts and prayers are for the speedy recovery and well being of the injured, and although I am not a prophet nor the son of one, I TOLD YOU SO!  I told you this day would come, and it is going to get worse as long as the authorities continue ignore the call of this blog for something to be done about this dangerous stretch of roadway with an open pit on one side in this high volume tourist area so close to the popular Mullins Beach.

Click here for more pictures and feedback on the Road View Lime.

Click here to read about previous accidents near this spot.

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 See also: Barbados TravelAdvisor - Save Mullins Bay & The Social Media Revolution: Action Call

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Poor Coastal Management Of The Mullins Bay Area As Seen From Space

Three massive groynes seen at top of this photo have contributed to significant
 accretion to the north and devastating erosion to the south in Road View  

For the benefit of new readers who may have landed on this blog as a result of two articles that appeared recently in the local media, the following two short videos explain how groynes interrupt longshore drift creating or maintaining wide beaches on one side but eroding and destroying those on the other side. In 2006 three massive rock groynes (clearly seen above) were built in Road View with the blessing and approval of our local CZMU (Coastal Zone Management Unit). Since then the beach immediately to the south at the back of the abandoned Kings Beach has almost totally disappeared. Next to it to the south, The Great House At Turtle Beach in 2009 was reported in the media spending US$250K on a seawall and rock revetment to shore-up its property (again with CZMU blessing). The contractor who worked on the Great House project also dropped boulders along the beach in haphazard manner (hoping and skipping some properties) under CZMU supervision. The beach in this area is now so eroded that it is impossible to walk except perhaps at low tide. Mullins Beach also (further south of the groynes) has seen significant narrowing to the point where last winter's tourist season was severely impacted. Unless there is urgent human intervention this stretch of coastline will be lost - with all the social, economic, environmental and ecological implications that portends.

 

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Longtime UK Repeat Visitors To Mullins Bay Ask: “how can something like this be allowed to happen?”

Although topics on this blog do not generate a lot of comments (not that I would not like that), from time to time readers do email their observations, criticisms and other responses, some of which have been posted here in the past.  Recently, I received such an email that has caught my eye as it captures the spirit behind the activism of this blog.  I have sought and received the writer’s permission to re-post it here to give it a wider audience.

from peter goddard xxxxx
to savemullinsbay@gmail.com
date Tue, Aug 2, 2011 at 3:24 PM
subject beach
Hi
I thought I would drop you a line just to offer our 100% backing with regards to your save our Mullins campaign. 

We have been visiting Barbados since 1990 and have visited your Island over 30 times, over the past 5 years the devestation of Mullins beach is absolutley a crime. 

We are not rich people or millonaires, we are both working all year to save up to come to the place we call our second home, we rent a small house in the Road View area and spend all day every day of our holiday on Mullins beach, we are very good friends with a family on Road View and feel ashamed sometimes to hear of the foreigners buying all and sundry on Barbados, with no regard for the local people or the environment. 

What can be done to stop Mullins disappearing altogether? On our last visit in Dec 2010 the beach actually did disappear, we have been told by our friends that the beach has come back a little bit, we will see when we come over this December. 

It also disturbs us when the sea is rough and the beach is at a minimum, just a little sand left in front of the bar, but  the whole beach is taken with Sunchairs for Westmoreland clients, which 9 times out of 10 don't have anyone sitting on them, discusting, it is complete disregard for everyone else either local or visiting. I was thinking of writing a letter to the Barbados Tourist Board to voice my complaints about the state the beach is in. 

We have video footage of Mullins from our first visit to Barbados in 1990, you would not even know it was the same place, it is a crying shame and upsets us very much, how can something like this be allowed to happen? 

Anyway we have completed the online survey and wish you well with your campaign.

Best Regards
Pete and Jan Goddard.

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Save The Turtles

See also: Tropical Storm Emily decimated the beach in Upper Road View August 1, 2011

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