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(CNS): The appointment of Dwayne Seymour MP (BTE) to Cabinet has scuppered his plan to file a private member’s motion asking the government to cancel the environmental impact assessment for the stretch of the East-West Arterial Road extension from Hurst Road through Bodden Town. Seymour, a former environment minister who has shown little enthusiasm for protecting it, can no longer bring the motion now that he is back in Cabinet.
Seymour was made labour minister last month in a sudden reshuffle after Premier Wayne Panton sacked Chris Saunders (BTW), his former deputy. The premier has said the rift was due to misconduct but Saunders has said it was about political differences.
At a public meeting in his constituency last week, Seymour said that he had been surprised to be made the new minister, as he was “not the most liked”. He also revealed his desire to get the road built without understanding the likely implications, saying that his constituents wanted an extra hour in bed.
However, just last week, the premier told CNS that poor, ad hoc, short-term past development decisions had caused many of the issues we face today and stressed the need to do things properly in future. Appearing on the platform at Seymour’s meeting, Panton explained how the failure to do any studies prior to the construction of Anton Bodden Drive has led to the district’s flooding problems.
“When we build this road, we need to know exactly how to do it,” he said, stressing that it was PACT that got this ball rolling to build a safe road that won’t increase the flooding. “This government is doing it… The reality is that this could have been done five times.”
The National Conservation Council has also directed under the National Conservation Act that the planned 10-mile extension to the road must be the subject of the EIA because of the significant detrimental impact it will have on the environment and the significant risk of increased flooding. Technical experts at the Department of Environment have said it will be essential to conduct a comprehensive EIA that covers the full route, given the knock-on impact.
But Seymour wants the government to build the stretch to Woodland Avenue in Bodden Town and to add more junctions without having any idea how this will impact the natural resources along the route or how the existing communities will be impacted by more flooding. Seymour argued that because the conservation law was not in effect when the road was gazetted, there is no need for an EIA.
Accepting the frustrations of those in the Eastern Districts over traffic, Panton explained that the congestion is an island-wide issue now on Grand Cayman that would not be solved by a single road. Panton confirmed that the government would be limiting the importation of vehicles, given the growing population and the number of cars being brought in by individuals each year.
Panton spoke about encouraging carpooling in the short term and introducing a public transport system as soon as possible to address the mounting congestion from West Bay to East End.
Panton was clear, however, that the EIA process would continue on the full EWA expansion. That assessment is expected to be completed by the end of this year. At that point, the premier said, armed with the relevant information, the design and construction of the road could begin.
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