Minister for Tourism, Investment, Creative Industries, Culture, and Information, Ernest Hilaire has announced that construction of beach park facilities at Reduit Beach is expected to begin within the next few months.
Addressing the pre-Cabinet press briefing on Monday, he outlined tourism plans aimed at creating more opportunities for Saint Lucians to benefit from the industry.
“You will see, over the next few months, construction starting on a number of facilities around Saint Lucia. We need to offer more opportunities for Saint Lucians to benefit from the tourism industry, and we’re going to do that through multiple avenues,” Hilaire stated.
“Gone are the days when you go to the beach, spend the entire day and there are virtually no facilities available for Saint Lucians to use. You will see shortly [that] we’re starting a facility at the Reduit beach, which is our most popular beach.”
The minister explained that this initiative aims to enhance the beach experience at Reduit, citing frequent reports of issues at the location.
“There are a couple of vendors who sell there. It’s an area that we have a lot of problems with. I mean, almost every day we get reports on visitor harassment, petty crime, and a lot of it has to do with the location, where it is—there is no proper lighting there so going there at night is a challenge, but a lot of Saint Lucians do go there…. The entire Reduit beach is extremely popular,” Hilaire stated.
He further noted, “Our plan really is to elevate the place—to put in facilities so people can shower, people can take a rest and sit down in shade, for example. There’ll be restaurants, there’ll be proper vending facilities. So, it’s really about upgrading the place and improving the experience.”
Hilaire revealed that similar facilities are planned for other beaches across the island. While he could not provide an exact timeline for the start of construction at Reduit Beach, he estimated that work would commence in the coming months.
“It’s something we want to do at multiple beaches, not just there, so I mean I think the final plans will be going to the DCA [Development Control Authority] for approval and of course, I can’t tell you the exact date but sometime during the next few months we will start work on it,” the minister said.
Just leave the place alone!!! Stop adding man made structures to pristine sites
Right now the construction is destroying the environment by feeding muddy water into the sea, building over the reef, and restricting vehicle access and parking. They are rapidly squeezing out Marie’s Fish Shack, which has been there for 47 years. They are killing a woman’s livlihood! And government thinks this is a good thing?!?! Shame on the government for allowing this atrocity!