Draft Design for Priory Beach Development to be Showcased at Town Hall

Residents of Priory, St. Ann, can view and provide feedback on the draft design for the development of the Priory (Fantasy) Beach, at a town hall meeting scheduled for Sunday, August 28 at 2:00 p.m., at the facility.

Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, will deliver the main address. Member of Parliament for St. Ann North Eastern, Hon. Marsha Smith; Mayor of St. Ann’s Bay, Councillor Sydney Stewart and other senior officials are expected to be in attendance.

The Priory Beach is among those being developed across Jamaica under the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) Beaches Development Programme.

Executive Director, TEF, Dr. Carey Wallace, told JIS News that the upcoming meeting is the second such face-to-face consultation with residents and stakeholders in the area, having hosted a town hall in December last year.

Residents also had an opportunity to provide input through an online survey.

“Having gotten that feedback… our architects went ahead and designed. What we’re going to do on Sunday is to show the draft of the design that we have and to still have it fairly open for any tweaks that the community would like to see, before we go to the final design and then procure for the work,” said Dr. Wallace.

He informed that the design that will be presented includes the recommendations and desires previously put forward by stakeholders.

“It’s an inclusive process of beach development. We hope that the community will feel that as Government, we are partnering with them, we are respecting their desires and needs and opinions, and incorporating that into what we then build for the community,” Dr. Wallace said.

He argued that the development of the beach is intended to be a catalyst that creates more economic activities for citizens as well as become something that the community is “proud of and happy for”.

Dr. Wallace said it will also provide the leisure experience for citizens, giving them the chance “to bring their families out and then to have the cleanliness, amenities and the facilities that can ensure they have an outstanding experience”.