🌳 MPs accused of misleading public about National Conservation Act

Several Members of Parliament (MPs) have been accused of misleading the public about the impact of the National Conservation Act on development in the country. MPs including McKeeva Bush and Chris Saunders, along with Cabinet Ministers Dwayne Seymour and Jay Ebanks, have suggested that the Act has obstructed development projects, a claim that is not supported by the facts. Since 2019, only 12% of submissions by the Department of Environment were not delivered to the Central Planning Authority or the Cayman Brac and Little Cayman Development Control Board within the agreed three-week response time. Furthermore, the approval rate for applications has only varied by 4% from 2022 to 2021. 📊

Despite the data suggesting that the National Conservation Act has not significantly impeded development, some MPs continue to criticize it. For instance, McKeeva Bush described the National Conservation Council as “the big problem” and criticized a lawsuit the Council was forced to bring when a planning application was defied. However, of the 4,000 planning applications reviewed since 2016, the Council has directed refusal for just 0.23% of them. The Department of Environment has also clarified that there have been no real delays to the planning process due to its input, which is typically advisory. 🏛️

In response to the misleading comments made by MPs, the Department of Environment and the National Conservation Council have been discussing with the Central Planning Authority and planning over how to facilitate reviews as quickly as possible. They have also offered to discuss the process with any parliamentarians or members of the public who wish to understand it better. 🤝