The Tribune

• Adelaide residents demand two operators ‘closed’

• Say presence in residential zone ‘really out of hand’

• Companies await Town Planning hearing outcomes

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Residents were yesterday demanding that planning authorities close two New Providence-based “swimming with the pigs” attractions that have “totally changed our neighbourhood”. 

Multiple inhabitants of Beach Drive, located on the island’s south-western shore at Adelaide Village, told Tribune Business they want both Da Pig Beach and Beyond Da Village Pig Experience relocated to an area zoned for commercial use.

And they questioned when the regulators, especially the Town Planning Committee, Department of Physical Planning and Ministry of Works, will finally “clamp down on enforcing the law and stop businesses opening in residential areas” such as theirs. 

The Beach Drive residents, in a 30-strong petition sent to Luther Smith, the Ministry of Works’ permanent secretary, on January 23, 2022, stated their vehement opposition to what they termed the “commercialisation” of the street on which their homes are located.

“Given that Beach Drive is zoned ‘Low Density Residential 1’, we, the property owners and regular residents of Beach Drive are confused as to how these properties are open and operating,” the told Mr Smith, in a letter that was said to have been passed on to Alfred Sears QC, minister of works and public utilities.

“There has never been a Town Planning meeting to attempt to gain a variance. In light of the above, we the property owners and regular residents of Beach Drive wholly oppose these projects. They have negatively changed the nature and ambiance of our neighbourhood in many ways.

“Consequently, we request that the Department of Physical Planning cause the entities to cease and desist operations and to restore the properties to ‘Residential 1’.” 

Both Da Pig Beach and Beyond Da Village Pig Experience opened last year, and each told Tribune Business they have the necessary Business Licences and other permits to operate. However, the evidence suggests neither yet has the required Town Planning sign-off and that both are trying to obtain this retroactively.

A virtual meeting on the Land Use Approval application by Beyond Da Village Pig Experience for its attraction, as well as a beach bar and grill, is due to be held on March 10. And Da Pig Beach revealed that it, too, “is currently before Town Planning” although it declined to provide further details when asked by this newspaper.

There are also prominent names behind at least one of the ventures. Robert Pantry, chief executive of Simplified Lending, the finance firm that recently arranged private Jamaican funding for both the Government’s Eight Mile Rock administrative complex, and the equity injection into My Ocean, confirmed to Tribune Business he is an investor in Da Pig Beach.

Meanwhile, residents of Beach Drive, which sits on the Adelaide Village shoreline, bitterly complained that the surge in tourist-related traffic congestion as well as noise and other irritants was “really out of hand” due to the presence of the two “swimming with the pigs” operations. 

The two businesses are four lots, or just hundreds of feet apart, and the Beach Drive homeowners voiced fears that the situation is dividing the community as they are being pitted against Adelaide Village residents who are obtaining jobs with Da Pig Beach and Da Village Pig Experience.

Sam Duncombe, president of the reEarth environmental group, whose property sits in between the two attractions, immediately next door to Da Village Pig Experience and two lots over from Da Pig Beach, told Tribune Business: “The thing is we are being bombarded; the entire neighbourhood is being bombarded by tour buses, cars and all-terrain vehicles, and boats and jet skis...

“Pigs are screaming, staff are screaming and the tourists are screaming. The staff are yelling from one end of the property to the other. The tourists are having a great time and are screaming in delight, which is wonderful for them, but not so much for the people who have to endure constant noise. They are both operating their generators all day=y”

Voicing bewilderment as to how the two businesses have been allowed to operate in an area zoned for residential use, Mrs Duncombe said she never received a response from Adrian White, then-Town Planning Committee chair and now the FNM’s St Anne’s MP and candidate vying for the party’s leadership, when she raised the matter under the former Minnis administration.

Asserting that Da Pig Beach opened in “early 2021”, and Da Village Pig Experience in June/July of last year, she alleged that the Davis administration had proven similarly unresponsive until the March meeting for Da Village Pig Experience was published in the newspapers.

“We’re trying to understand the process here,” Mrs Duncombe added. “After Da Village Pig Experience was operating for eight months, they’re having a Town Planning meeting. Is this to address zoning or the concerns of the neighbourhood? There are lots of concerns as to what is going on here.

“Our residences should be our sanctuary, a place where we can unwind and not be harassed, and have peace and harmony. That’s not happening. When we have 50-60 people coming at a time that’s a problem. It completely changes the complexion of the neighbourhood.

“The reality is that I have not spoken to one person who lives on this road who thinks this is a good idea. I want them gone. They don’t belong here. They are a disturbance, they are a nuisance and I want them gone.”

Mrs Duncombe was backed by Rudy Stuart, another Beach Drive resident, who told this newspaper: “It’s now really out of hand. Traffic has increased tremendously, the noise level from generators running all day, and boats coming in. There’s too much traffic. This is a dead-end street, and people that live here want peace and quiet.

“These four-wheelers, 30-40 at a time, screaming down the street and making noise, the tourists on them don’t care how much noise they make. It’s really, really out of hand.” Mr Stuart also voiced suspicion and mistrust over the upcoming Town Hall meeting, suggesting it could provide a platform for the two pigs’ operations to get outsiders to call in and voice support for the businesses.

Fearing that this could create a false impression, and ease the planning approvals process, Mr Stuart added: “We want them closed down. Closed down completely. They cannot be in this area... I cannot see the Government changing the zoning for them. They need to enforce the laws.

“Most of the people out here are retirees, and to have these all-terrain vehicles coming through with all sorts of noise, and to have outriders telling people to get to the side as if they are police officers... We really want them closed, no if’s, and’s and but’s about it.”

Leslie Vanderpool, principal organiser of the Bahamas International Film Festival and another Beach Drive resident, called for the Government to start enforcing regulation and the planning laws. She added that Adelaide residents had voted against a zip-line proposal for the area in 2017 as well as other projects, and questioned why both pigs operations had been approved.

Mr Pantry, when contacted by Tribune Business, confirmed he was an investor in Da Pig Beach but added that he was not involved from an operational perspective. He also argued that the controversy had more to do with Beyond Da Village Pig Experience than the project he was involved with.

“I’m really just an investor in it. Some people throw my name out. I don’t know why. I’m not involved in the day-to-day operations,” Mr Pantry said. Similarly, Paul Neely, who owns the property from which Da Pig Beach operates, said he was the landlord and had leased it to the attraction.

He added that he had forwarded residents concerns to Da Pig Beach, and had been told the operation had “made a lot of changes in what they do” before referring this newspaper back to Mr Pantry, who he described as the “lead owner”.

Anwar Bastian, Da Pig Beach’s operations manager, eventually called this newspaper to confirm that the company was seeking to emulate the success of swimming pigs attractions on Rose Island, Exuma and Abaco on mainland New Providence.

“This provides jobs for the people of Adelaide who are happy to have employment,” he said, adding that seven jobs have been created. Mr Bastian said the operation’s presence “also provides a great view of the historical village of Adelaide”, and it had received “numerous positive reviews on Facebook”.

“It’s a private tour, a private property. The matter is currently before Town Planning. We await their decision and will follow their guidance. As the matter is before Town Planning we do not intend to comment any further,” he added. Da Pig Beach, Mr Bastian said, had also saved its pigs from going to the slaughterhouse.

Charles Johnson, operator of Beyond Da Village Pig Experience, would similarly not go into detail on the Town Planning hearing. Confirming that he had been operating since June 2021 at his Beach Drive property, he added that he has a Business Licence to provide private tours and the venue was already a well-known location for private parties.

Beyond Da Village Pig Experience is understood to have been started after Mr Johnson split from Da Pig Beach. Asserting that he had all the necessary Ministry of Agriculture permits for the pigs, he added: “I have six people employed, and have two taking care of the animals 24 hours a day. A vet is on call.”

Mr Johnson said the Beyond Da Village Pig Experience was conceived in response to tourism’s call for fresh, exciting new attractions to be made available to visitors so that the country’s product was improved. He added that he already has a letter from the Royal Bahamas Police Force approving him for the activities he is carrying out.

“This is a small, controlled tour that operates from 11pm to 4pm,” Mr Johnson said. “I had this application in from eight months ago for the property itself so I can operate a restaurant and bar for a private tour.” He also said he had met with his Beach Drive neighbours in an attempt to resolve any concerns they have.

Mrs Duncombe, though, voiced fears that Beach Drive residents are “being painted as the villains” because of the need for jobs among Adelaide residents. However, she told Tribune Business: “We’re not the only neighbourhood dealing with these issues.

“I want to know when the Ministry of Works is going to start clamping down and enforcing the laws, and stop businesses operating in residential areas..... If we continue to ignore all the laws the country breaks down because there is no law and order, and if every time an issue comes up we have to go to court that’s unsustainable.

“The Government, laws and regulatory bodies are there to protect citizens of this country and they are not doing their jobs. At what point in time are we going to be protected from predatory businesses in this country that have no regard for the community, no regard for their neighbours and no regard for the rule of law?” Mrs Duncombe asked.

“They should not be taking advantage of the extremely lax regulatory system that does not properly have the resources to deal with all that is happening. At some point in time the Government has to do the right thing and stop making citizens incur hundreds of dollars in legal fees to deal with their issues. Nobody gets justice and the country continues to fall into a mess.”