Representatives from Nanny Cay continued making their case to residents last Thursday for a $30-$40 million expansion that they hope to complete within three years after they receive the green light from government planners.
The project — which would add a 112-slip marina to the cay’s southwestern tip and replace the existing beach area with a new islet built nearby — is part of ongoing plans to accommodate larger yachts, Nanny Cay Chairman Cameron McColl told about 25 people who attended a public meeting at the Valerie O. Thomas Community Centre.
The proposal drew mixed reactions, with some residents drilling Mr. McColl about possible effects on nearby Sea Cows Bay and others defending the expansion and lauding Nanny Cay’s previous successes.
Community meeting
As the meeting got under way minutes after 7 p.m. last Thursday, government Chief Planner Greg Adams explained that a previous public meeting had been held on July 4.
At the time, he explained, community members were “dissatisfied” about a lack of attention paid to the project’s limited environmental impact assessment, which was completed in May by Econcerns Ltd., a consulting firm owned by Virgin Islands ecologist Clive Petrovic.
“The objective for tonight’s meeting is to present the concluded EIA for this new portion of development, and this has come from the last public meetings that we had where there were some sentiments raised that the EIA was not properly fleshed out in the beginning,” Mr. Adams said.
The expansion has already received conditional approval from government planners, and full approval will follow once the developers meet required conditions, Mr. Adams said. According to a Sept. 3 approval letter, those conditions include holding last week’s meeting; redesigning the marina drainage to facilitate better flushing; and appointing a third-party inspector tasked with ensuring that construction adheres to the EIA recommendations.
Meanwhile, coral relocation has already been carried out to make room for reclaimed land and the new marina, Mr. Adams said during the meeting.
This relocation, he explained, started early with permission from the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources and Climate Change because it cannot be done at the time of year when developers hope to start work on the expansion.
The above rendering shows Nanny Cay’s expansion plans laid over a satellite image of the existing facility. The new 112-slip marina is shown on the right side of the rendering. Depicted above it is a planned islet where a new beach will be built. (Screenshot: NANNY CAY)
The project
After explaining the purpose of the meeting, Mr. Adams introduced Mr. McColl, who presented a slide deck with multiple artist renderings of the proposal.
The project, he explained, is part of Nanny Cay’s plans to expand further into the super-yacht industry.
Besides the new 112-slip marina, the expansion would facilitate repair and dry-docking for such boats by adding a new boatyard and a 200-ton haul-out facility for vessels as large as 120-by-43 feet, he said.
To help accommodate and shelter the new marina, a breakwater would be constructed, and the navigation channel into Hannah Bay would be realigned.
This realignment is expected to be the only part of the project to require dredging, according to Mr. McColl.
Though the EIA suggests that the plans call for reclaiming at least 4.6 acres of land, Mr. McColl said no new residential real estate would be added.
The project would create an additional 48 new parking spaces, and for special events the expanded dry dock storage yard would be able to accommodate as many as 180 vehicles when not occupied by vessels, the EIA states.
If given the go-ahead for the full project, Nanny Cay expects the finalised expansion to create an estimated 91 new jobs, according to the EIA.
The plans involve filling in the small beach area in front of Peg Leg’s Restaurant on the southwestern end of Nanny Cay. That beach, however, will be replaced with a newly constructed recreational islet to the north, which the community will be able to access via a wooden bridge, according to the plans.
While construction is under way, rock will be trucked in five to six days per week for five months, according to Mr. McColl, who told meeting attendees that VI contractors will be used for all ground works.
The developer’s rendering of the planned expansion. (Photo: SCREENSHOT)
Crowd response
During the meeting, some residents expressed concern about environmental impacts, especially in Sea Cows Bay.
In response, Mr. McColl described Nanny Cay’s previous expansion in the early 2010s as evidence for likely success. That $75 million project — which also included coral transplanting — brought the total number of boat berths from 200 to 320 and added several new condo blocks, according to the EIA.
At last Thursday’s meeting, another resident asked how the expansion would affect the daily congestion on the road between Sea Cows Bay and Hannah Bay.
Though the EIA estimates Nanny Cay would experience 10 percent more traffic after the expansion, Mr. McColl reiterated that no new residential housing would be constructed that could increase traffic at odd hours.
“No more real estate,” he said. “No more homes.”
Environmental impacts
Besides outlining the likely environmental impacts of the project, the EIA proposes mitigation measures.
“The proposed expansion plans should have no substantial impacts on coastal processes, such as currents or wave action, over a large area,” the EIA states.
“Any construction in the sea may affect localised currents in the vicinity of the structure.”
The document also addresses the potential impacts of sediment runoff, which can kill coral and other marine life.
“Erosion on land is a risk and is a concern to this project,” the EIA states. “Care must be taken to prevent any land-based sediments from entering the sea.”
To that end, the EIA advises installing turbidity curtains around the project’s perimeter during construction.
With such mitigation efforts in place, the EIA states, “It is expected that habitat disturbance beyond the obvious construction footprint, on land and in the marine environment, will be minimal and temporary.”
The assessment adds that coral habitats around Nanny Cay and in other areas are already suffering.
“Previous studies have shown that coral reefs near Nanny Cay, and along the entire coast of Tortola, have not fared well in recent years,” the EIA states.
The EIA does not say how much coral would be destroyed or displaced, but it notes that the relocation project would help mitigate the project’s impact in this regard.
“Natural habitat succession, especially in the marine environment, will begin once disturbance ceases. However, intervention can greatly accelerate the process and restore thriving marine communities more quickly,” the EIA states. “The coral relocation project has identified colonies in danger of damage during construction. Numerous colonies have been relocated to nearby suitable sites. Such mitigation is useful and should be encouraged.”
Previous relocation
Mr. McColl also addressed the coral relocation effort last Thursday. During Nanny Cay’s previous expansion in the 2010s, he said, coral was successfully transplanted to make room for land reclamation, but the tagging system used to track individual transplants failed after a few years.
“This is the second time we’ve [transplanted coral],” he said. “Now, unfortunately, the first time [the coral wasn’t tagged properly], so when we went back we couldn’t assess specific percentages, but what we saw was that many corals were back in full.”
This success, he added, encouraged his team’s outlook on the new expansion project.
“This time around, because we’ve only just moved these corals here, we don’t know right?” Mr. McColl said, pointing a laser at the projection screen. “They’re all planted; they seem to be okay, but we’ll monitor them for the next year, two years, three years. But we’re enthusiastic about them.”
The last transplant project, he said, wasn’t carried out with the precision that is now available.
Meeting attendees also asked why representatives from Nanny Cay were presenting the EIA instead of the consultant who carried it out.
Mr. McColl responded that it was Nanny Cay’s obligation to present the assessment to the community.
After the formal meeting closed, Messrs. McColl and Adams continued answering questions from concerned community members for some time.
