NIA CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (June 16, 2022) — At a recent forum hosted by the Department of Physical Planning on Nevis, Hon. Spencer Brand, Minister of Physical Planning and Environment, called on developers and prospective developers on the island to partner with the department to ensure mutual protection.

The Developers Orientation Seminar which was open to home owners and prospective homeowners, bankers, insurance agents, architects, surveyors and contractors was designed to share information relating to the requirements for building and development, as well as improvements in the application process and planning laws.

“Let us partner with the Planning Department and let us work together to ensure that every single bit of development on the island of Nevis receives the stamp of approval of our Planning Department,” he said.

Minister Brand underscored the importance of persons’ adhering to the guidelines set out in the regulations for development on Nevis.

“The reality is, ladies and gentleman, that we have a set of regulations and laws that govern the development of the island of Nevis, and if it is that the Planning Department were to make an error or falter in their application process then the aggrieved person may be inclined to take the Planning Department and the government to court, but I want to say to you as well, it is not a one-way street. It is not one-way traffic. The Planning Department also has the legislation and the authority if they feel that developers are not following the necessary regulations, that they too can take any developer to court to comply,” he explained.

The minister appealed to developers on the island to seek the advice and approval of the Department of Physical Planning.

“I want to say to you as well that I want you to protect us so that we can protect you. That’s a very strange statement. Right? Protect us so we can protect you. The idea is that you can protect us by ensuring that you go through the entire planning process, and once you would have gone through that planning process then you can rest assured that your structure that you intend to construct or build will be protected and it will certainly protect the end user, the consumer.

“If you decide to start a project without [Department of Physical Planning] approval and something goes wrong and something happens, somebody gets injured then you could be in serious, serious trouble, and we don’t want any developer on the island of Nevis having to extend and expend significant sums just so that they need to remedy something that they could have avoided,” he said.

The seminar focused on the legal obligation to apply for development permission; the processing of applications; development control and regulation requirements; detail plan submission; conceptual consideration and environmental impact assessment; and legal liability for non-compliance.