Tractors and bulldozers went to work on Jaws Beach over the weekend – but as the vehicles and workers did not belong to any government department, environmental activists are now demanding to know who is in charge of the publicly-owned Clifton Bay area.
The Coalition to Preserve Clifton Bay photographed several tractors as they moved sand on Jaws Beach in the process of tearing down the old dock and constructing a new one.
Claiming that environmental damage is being done to ecological areas, the group wants to know what the Ministry of the Environment is going to do to protect the environmentally significant area. They are also asking Clifton Heritage Authority if private citizens can do whatever they want on public land.
In The Tribune a coalition member was quoted: “Who is in lawful control of Jaws Beach?” “Someone has bulldozed the pond and wetlands behind the beach.
The coalition also questioned whether the weekend construction and beach alteration were connected with the Occupy Clifton/Renegotiate event held on Jaws Beach on Sunday.
Keod Smith, an organiser for Re-Negotiate, and Mr Nygard’s attorney, said: “Permission? It comes from me! It comes from us. This is ours.
“We don’t need to ask anybody’s permission to do what is ours. You don’t have to ask permission to do what is in your yard. This is our yard . . . I’m not going to ask my government, certainly not going to ask the Clifton Heritage Authority for permission to do anything. They serve the interests of Mr Bacon. They sitting on his coalition and his board. That’s where they are. They’re not supposed to be. They are in conflict. I called for their resignation.
“This is ours to have. I need no one’s permission for anything.”
