A spokesperson for the KAABOO Cayman Festival said on Rooster's early morning radio show that the temporary double line fence that was erected across the public beach in West Bay was exactly that - temporary. "It is just like Pirates Week," the man said. "Traffic gets diverted along Harbour Drive in George Town whilst the festivities take place. It is exactly the same."

Hearing that I exploded! People pass freely through the barriers that are in place for the Dancing/Bands, Landing and Float Parade. It is only traffic that is diverted and the diversion is minimal.

The fencing that is already in place by Dart's Kimpton Hotel shows very clearly it is an impediment to people.

Incredibly, after complaints by a
number of persons, the chairman of the Public Lands Commission said
that their chief inspector had found nothing wrong with the fencing
and it was on private land.

This to anyone with any intelligence
could determine that the fence was erected well past the vegetation
line and the high water market. That meant it was NOT on private
land.

A precedent was now being set.

The position the Public Lands
Commission has taken on this is terrible and beyond sound reason. The
Public Lands Commission is tasked with regulating the use and
enjoyment of public lands, including beach access.

This hardly gives any comfort to any of
us who try to get to the beach when public rights of way provided to
give beach access are constantly being illegally blocked.

Not one single person has been fined, or let alone charged, with these offenses that continually happen.

Happily, the temporary KAABOO Festival fence problem has now been resolved. CNS has just reported that in response to their inquiries, the Central Planning Authority (CPA) made their own inspection on Tuesday (12) and concluded the fence had to be moved.

The CNS article reports:

'“During the inspection, it was
determined that there was scope to adjust the placement of the fence
line to address any perception that the temporary fencing impeded the
public’s ability to traverse the beach,” planning officials said
in a statement. This was in response to CNS enquiries, which were
made after readers raised concerns that the fencing, although
temporary, was causing a serious impediment to the beach for a
significant stretch.

'“These adjustments are currently
underway with the full cooperation and assistance of the event
organisers and a follow-up inspection will be conducted before the
end of day to verify the final placement,” the CPA added in its
statement.

'The authority said that the
application by the organisers of the KAABOO Cayman festival for
temporary tents and fencing on the beach side of the event site was
made and granted in August with some conditions, including that the
area between the fencing and the sea would not be blocked in any
way.”

To read the whole article go to:
https://caymannewsservice.com/2019/02/cpa-orders-fence-moved/

The temporary obstruction was not the
only thing that was being fenced around.