The design plans, for the new Blowing Point Ferry Terminal, are now in the hands of the Department of Physical Planning for approval, as the Anguilla Government anxiously moves forward with the project.
It is part of the Anguilla Programme being funded by the United Kingdom Government. The project has been scaled down from the original size and is estimated to cost just over four million US dollars. It is expected to commence early in the New Year, and has been relocated to the original area, thus saving the Government the expense of acquiring private portions of lands, now due to be returned to the owners.
The Honourable Minister of Infrastructure and Tourism, Mr. Haydn Hughes, spoke to The Anguillian newspaper about the project. “I am pleased to announce that we have finalised the designs and drawings for the Blowing Point Ferry Terminal which are already with the Department of Physical Planning and the Land Development Committee,” he disclosed. “They should be getting back to us very shortly on the Blowing Point Ferry Terminal.”
The Minister went on: “This is the first Anguilla Programme project that will be completely managed by the Ministry. Everything about that project is going to be done under my Ministry so I am very happy to show off the expertise of Anguillians when it to comes to this project.
“The Premier brought a valuable idea to it – in that he was the one who suggested such health services facilities as a Triage, a Testing Centre and a Quarantine Room. The new Blowing Point Ferry Terminal is going to have all the features in this new Covid environment so it will be ready and fit for purpose. We will also have space for the Royal Anguilla Police Force and the Anguilla Air and Sea Ports Authority. It is going to be a magnificent, magnificent piece that was designed by Raoul Vanterpool and Carl Richards, so I am very excited about that. I think everybody will be very happy to see it. The project costs in the region of four and-a-half US dollars.”
Mr. Hughes was not certain about the acreage of private land which the previous Government of Anguilla had undertaken to compulsorily acquire, and which has already been placed in the possession of the Crown. “We have agreed to move forward towards reinstating that land to the owners. It is a situation that I inherited and I don’t want to be spending the next twenty year on land issues,” he stated. “The Ferry Terminal is now going to be moved to the original footprint of where the old building was, so that we will not encroach on any of the lands that were previously acquired by the former Administration. The lands that are an issue are those between there and the port [not higher up where some buildings were demolished].”
Asked whether the Government would be making concession payments to the landowners for the compulsory acquired lands, now to be returned to them, the Minister replied: “It isn’t that the Government is planning to pay money to the individuals. It is whether or not the individuals want to be paid for not being able to use their land for the time it was in the possession of the Government. But we need to get this fixed. We have experienced in Anguilla having issues with land that have gone all the way to the Privy Council. I don’t want that on my desk. That’s why we made the decision to reinstate the land to the original owners.”
Minister Hughes released the design drawings of the new Blowing Point Ferry Terminal to The Anguillian newspaper after obtaining the permission of the Architect.
