Nassau - The spectacular Bahamas beach that formed the backdrop for a Jaws film and saw Daniel Craig emerge from its azure waters in Casino Royale, is in danger of environmental calamity, claim campaigners.
Fashion tycoon Peter Nygard has had a home on a peninsula above Clifton Bay in the Bahamian capital Nassau since 1984, but his plans to build a stem cell research centre at the site has sparked a row with environmentalists.
The Canadian fashion mogul, behind the brand Nygard, has been accused of expanding the size of his property from three to six acres (1.2 hectares to 2.4ha) to by laying down concrete to affect water flow and therefore build up beaches around his home.
Campaigners say that this action has affected the flow of sand to Clifton Beach, one of the most famous public beaches in the Bahamas, leaving parts of it with no sand whatsoever.
In 2010, Nygard was ordered by the government of the Bahamas to return his property to its original size. But the Canadian claims the beaches around his home have been created naturally and said that since the government has changed, the order no longer stands.
Instead, he has sought permission from the new government to develop the stem cell research centre as he is an avid fan of the scientific age reversal process, claiming his use of the treatment has caused him to actually get younger.
Now as the tycoon aims to further expand the so-called Nygard Cay (formerly known as Simms Point), Bahamians have been urged to submit all and any of their objections during 21-day consultations over the proposals.
Fred Smith, a QC and co-founder of the Save the Bays campaign group said: “Nygard epitomises the worst kind of unregulated and cosy and incestuous relationship between government and foreign developers.
“The government and such foreign developers think that our society, culture, environment can be sacrificed on the altar of the almighty dollar.”
Smith told Bahama Islands Info: “For decades, Nygard Cay has been recklessly developed without the proper approvals and permits. Successive governments have allowed the property to grow to double its original size by claiming land from the seabed, which is supposed to be the property and patrimony of the Bahamian people.
“Even worse, it has also blocked the natural flow of sand to Jaws Beach, causing one of the only public beaches left in New Providence to all but disappear.”
Nygard has said he will invest £17-million (R310m) in the new research centre, with his property proposed as one potential site.
Advertising rentals at Nygard Cay from £3 000 (R55 000) per person per day, a private island rental website claims villas are available on the site for holidaymakers.
It also claims Sean Connery, Oprah Winfrey, Robert DeNiro and former US president George Bush have all been to Nygard Cay, which has Mayan-style design, waterslides, an aquarium and countless jacuzzis. – Daily Mail