HYATT TWIST

JUST A MINUTE, Mr Prime Minister!

The legal battle between Prime Minister Freundel Stuart, social activist and attorney-at-law David Comissiong, and developer Mark Maloney, is about to intensify.

The application made by Prime Minister Stuart to dismiss Comissiong’s application for Judicial Review of the multi-million dollar construction of a 15-storey hotel on the beach-front land at Bay Street, St Michael, has been dismissed.

Stuart is also the Minister responsible for the Town and Country Planning Department.

Yesterday, Madam Justice Sonia Richards ruled that Comissiong does have the standing to question Stuart’s decision to grant developer Mark Maloney’s company, Vision Development Inc, permission to go ahead with the Hyatt project.

However, the Prime Minister’s lawyer, Queen’s Counsel Hal Gollop, along with Queen’s Counsel Barry Gale, who is representing Vision Development Inc, both asked for leave to appeal the decision.

“It was dismissed on three grounds. The Court made a finding that I had standing under the Town and Country Planning Act. I also had standing under the Administrative Justice Act as a person whose interest was adversely affected by the decision to grant permission to build the hotel,” Comissiong told reporters after the two-hour long hearing.

“Thirdly, most pleasing to me, was that in the public interest that the Court would hear the matter. In other words, there was sufficient public interest in whether the grant of the building permission was correct or incorrect. So that was the decision, in a sense a slam dunk for me, in that all three grounds that I argued were upheld by the Court,” he continued.
Stressing that he was humbly pursuing the case in an attempt to be a minister of justice and righteousness while looking out for his country’s interest, Comissiong reiterated that he was concerned that permission was granted for the construction of the 15-storey hotel, on one of Barbados’ most precious beaches, in the absence of an Environmental Impact Assessment.

“It is likely that there will be an appeal and we will go through arguments before a Court of Appeal and, if necessary, maybe go as far as the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ). So until the appeal is filed, and is argued and is decided upon, the matter will go no further,” Comissiong said.

The social activist also made it clear that he merely wants the Court to review the process by which the decision was made to grant the Maloney-led company permission to build the hotel.

“But, I have never applied for an injunction to stop the building. So it’s entirely up to the developer. There is nothing legally stopping the developer from commencing the construction.

“But if the developer does that, they run the risk that if it is finally determined by a court of law that the permission was wrongly given, and the permission is struck down, that whatever resources they would have put into commencing that construction would be in vain and they would lose those resources,” he said.

Meanwhile, Gale told reporters that the merit of the case will be determined subsequently at a trial, but indicated that what is of significance is that both Prime Minister Stuart and Vision Development Inc., applied for leave to appeal to the Court of Appeal. Gale said it is significant that Madam Justice Richards granted the leave.

“It doesn’t affect Vision because there is no injunction in place that prevents the development. Mr Comissiong had filed an application previously seeking an interim order, or an injunction to prevent the development from taking place, and he voluntarily withdrew that some months ago . . . I think it has already begun, so it can continue,” Gale said. (AH)