Privy Council Rejects Barbuda Land Rights in 2022 Ruling, Clearing Path for $7 Million Beach Plots
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · May 20
Privy Council Rejects Barbuda Land Rights in 2022 Ruling, Clearing Path for $7 Million Beach Plots
2 articles · Updated · BBC.com · May 20
A 2022 Privy Council ruling found Barbudans' communal rights do not amount to property rights, backing Antigua and Barbuda's government in a landmark fight over resort development.
That judgment undercut the 2007 Barbuda Land Act, which had recognized communal ownership and consultation rights, and helped shield projects such as the 400-acre Beach Club Barbuda from local legal challenges.
Miranda Beazer, who says she leased 30 acres of coastline, now has access to only eight acres and alleges foreign developers demolished the remains of her beach bar after Hurricane Irma.
Developers including Paradise Found, Murbee Resorts and PLH say their projects or leases comply with Antiguan law, while local campaigners say beaches are being fenced off and ancestral access erased.
The Barbuda dispute reflects a wider Caribbean clash between tourism-led growth and public beach access, with Jamaican activists saying less than 1% of that country's coastline remains freely accessible.
When 'paradise' is for sale, who pays the ultimate price for luxury developments?
Can Caribbean nations build modern economies without selling their ancestral coastlines?