On May 4, 2026, I attended the public consultation meeting held by the Ministry of Physical Planning and Infrastructure Development alongside Beaches’ senior team and development team at Shore Club regarding the proposed Beaches Staff Housing in Long Bay, Providenciales.
In the meeting a short presentation by Beaches representative was about the application, registered PR 18118 for a Development Permission for the construction of a Staff Housing Development consisting of Twelve Apartment Blocks a total of Two Hundred and Fifty (250) Units, Laundry Facility, Club House and Ancillary Facilities for Block & Parcel 60810/11 which comprises of 6.25 acres of land located in Long Bay, Providenciales.
After the rather short presentation, the floor was open to public questions. I rose and made it clear that I strongly oppose the proposed 250 staff units. Such a large scale project will fundamentally alter the character of Long Bay and threaten the fabric of our residential community. I also made direct suggestions to the Beaches representative to consider partnering with locals who have vacant land and to develop low-density staff housing rather than imposing a massive, all inclusive, Section A development.
I must applaud the Long Bay community for turning out in numbers to the meeting and humbly addressing their concerns and objections to the proposed elaborate 250 Beaches staff housing.
If this application, registered PR 18118 for the proposed 250 staff housing for Beaches is approved, this will set a dangerous precedent. Other resorts will likely follow suit, leading to unchecked high density development across the island. This will kill the long-term rental market and leave locals on the sidelines. The proposed 250 staff accommodation will not benefit the country or its people; only Beaches stands to gain. Allowing this would signal to investors that our zoning laws are flexible for those with enough influence, eroding public trust in our planning process. We must rise up and put our foot down on this Section A type of development, which threatens our community’s future. Our elected officials should not be naive about allowing such matters to flood our market and undermine the well being of Turks and Caicos residents.
We know that there is mounting pressure over housing shortages and the strain on infrastructure caused by rapid population growth, especially in Providenciales. However, this should not give any developer the right to provide such disproportionately large accommodations for their staff. Once again, I stress the importance of partnering with locals who have land to develop staff housing in various locations, spreading out the impact and supporting local enterprise. There is no justification for developing a “mini Beaches” compound for their staff. Let us keep the money circulating within our country and ensure that development benefits all, not just a single corporation.
