nail bay
Nov 4th, 2009
Link to Blog posting and details of Nail Bay road paving and agreemet with Taj Resorts
Apparently these docks, in an area that commonly has 10 foot groundswells in season, will cover up one of the few remaining reefs on the northwest side of Virgin Gorda. This picture is of Nail Bay a few years ago when the run off from improperly constructed roads ran off into the bay.
Press release by Nail Bay:
Public Hearing for 52 Slip Dock and Artificial Barrier Reef at Nail Bay
A public hearing on the proposed dock with 52 slips and a new artificial barrier reef at Nail Bay will be held on Thursday, November 19, 2009 at 7:30 p.m. at the historic Nail Bay Sugar Mill Ruins in Virgin Gorda, according to Ajit Mathew George, Managing Director of Nail Bay Resort.
There will be free boat transportation from Trellis Bay to Virgin Gorda at 6:45 p.m. and the return trip will be immediately after the meeting.
Mr. George said that an application (D312/08) was submitted by Virgin Gorda Beach Club Limited last year on November 5, 2008 to Town & Country Planning Department and the Planning Authority for this project. He said that “a detailed presentation will be made at this public hearing by the developer and various consultants involved in the preparation of these plans. There will be plenty of time for questions and answers.”
A copy of the environmental report prepared in connection with this application and a set of the proposed plans in a CD format will be made available at no cost to anyone who submits a request by e-mail in advance to Ajit George (ajit@nailbay.com). This copy will be available to pick up at or following the public hearing.
The public is invited to send comments concerning this application to the Planning Authority, Town & Country Planning Department, Road Town. Tortola within twenty-eight days after this public hearing.
Mr. George said that “the proposed dock is an architecturally creative design that takes into account the natural contours of Nail Bay beach and will be visually attractive from throughout Nail Bay as well as from the sea. We decided to limit the slips to just one side of the dock so that the area between the dock and the beach would be totally protected from any boat traffic transforming it into a virtual marine sanctuary that would be safe for swimmers and snorkelers at all times.”
The dock will go out about 300 feet from Nail Bay beach and will have two wings with slips on each wing. This private dock will have 14 slips that can handle boats up to 60 feet; 12 slips that can handle boats up to 50 feet; 24 slips that can handle boats up to 35 feet and two slips to handle ferries.
Mr. George further stated that “in order to have a private dock at Nail Bay that could be used most of the year and especially during the winter season, when ground swells are common, it was necessary to install wave attenuation devices to protect the proposed private dock. These wave attenuation devices will act as a porus groyne. Numerous hours were spent beneath the water surface by various professionals doing hydrographic and coral surveys, studying bottom and current conditions, wind wave analysis and modeling wave attenuation.
Based on these studies, we were able to determine the best reasonable location for the placement of the proposed barrier reef system that will protect the proposed private dock while becoming a haven for fish and protecting the coastline from additional erosion.”
There will be two artificial barrier reefs installed at Nail Bay to protect the proposed dock from the ground sea.
According to Mr. George, “the artificial barrier reef is estimated to add almost 20,000 metric tons of marine biomass to the environment on an annual basis. This artificial barrier reef will also protect the existing coral reefs between the dock and the beach from large ground swells minimizing future damage to the reef.”
Virgin Gorda Beach Club Limited, the Developers of Nail Bay Resort, filed this application last year with the Planning Authority to build this private dock along the Nail Bay property in accordance with the Development Agreement for Nail Bay Property that was executed by the Government of the Virgin Islands and the Developers of Nail Bay on December 16, 2006.
Pursuant to the terms of the Development Agreement, the Government of the Virgin Islands approved, among other things, the construction and operation of a new five (5) star hotel, townhouses and residential villas for sale with a luxury spa and related facilities including restaurants, bars, swimming pools, gift shops and boutiques at Nail Bay plus a private jetty and ten moorings.
This historic 148 acre former sugar plantation below Gorda Peak, with almost a mile of waterfront overlooking Sir Francis Drake Channel, on the north western shore of Virgin Gorda, has been in the process of being developed into a luxury villa resort with over 50 million dollars invested to date. Over the past three years, most of the secondary roads within Nail Bay have been paved in concrete after all the utilities were placed underground and generators were installed to automatically provide stand-by electricity to all lots together with a state-of-the art internal water distribution system served by a desalination plant at Nail Bay.
Recommended by Frommers and The Best of the British Virgin Islands and named the best value in Virgin Gorda by Travel+Leisure Magazine, Nail Bay offers numerous distinctive villas, apartments and rooms with magical sunset views and three sun bleached, deserted, sandy beaches with great snorkeling. Nail Bay also offers modern conveniences such as ADSL internet service, satellite television and radio as well as DVD players and iPod stations and dining at the SUGARCANE restaurant. For more information on Nail Bay, visit www.nailbay.com.
Link to 2 newspaper articles in the BVI Beacon and Island Sun, early December 2008 on the proposed "dock and artifical reef" at Nail Bay
Government signs ANOTHER 5 star development deal. Original story taken from BVI News
A development agreement has been signed between the government and Virgin Gorda Beach Club Limited, Virgin Gorda Investment Company Limited and Nail Bay Properties Limited for the construction and operation of a new four or five star hotel on Virgin Gorda.
The agreement was signed on December 16, 2006, according to Chief Minister Hon. Dr. D. Orlando who was responding to questions from Opposition Leader Hon. Ralph T. O’Neal in the May 3rd Legislative Council sitting.
The Chief Minister said the development of the Nail Bay property consists of "approximately 100 hotel units, plus additional hotel spa suites, hotel villas, townhouses and residential villas with a luxury spa and related facilities including restaurants, bras, swimming pools, gift shop and boutiques."
Quoting a section of the development agreement, the Chief Minister said: "According to item 15 of the preamble to the development agreement, "The developers intend to expend a minimum of US$50 million dollars over a period of six years in carrying out the development..."
The Chief Minister also disclosed that the applications for persons who applied for non-belonger landholding licenses between January 2004 and June 2006 in the Nail Bay area would be considered for the grant of such licenses. "In fact, a number of such applications have recently been approved by Executive Council," Dr. Smith said.
He noted that the agreement is now part of the public record and can be obtained from the High Court Registry.
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