Planning authority holds second consultative meeting on Praslin |08 June 2017

Some seven land owners from the Grand Anse, Anse Lazio areas on Praslin attended a second consultative meeting organised by the Seychelles Planning Authority last weekend at the Pension Fund Complex conference room at Grand Anse.

The land owners had the opportunity to discuss the various guidelines to develop their land in the presence of key stakeholders.

Anse Lazio, considered one of the most beautiful beaches of the world, is one of Praslin’s main touristic attractions and treasures. Not only does it hold great value for the island itself and the tourism industry, but it also holds great value for landowners of the area.

After intense consultations and discussions, the authority presented a proposed draft of the land use plan which has been carefully put together by the collective work of different stakeholders and the landowners themselves. The plan takes into consideration the sensitivity of the micro ecosystem of the area which includes river catchment areas, marshes, varied topography and terrain, as well as the presence of coco de mer plants.

Landowners learned about the key infrastructure projects, especially parking facilities, water supplies, electricity supplies and road diversion. Certain development guidelines were also proposed to ensure that the beauty of the pristine environment of Anse Lazio is preserved, as per the demand of the land owners themselves. Examples are the height of buildings which should not exceed three levels, colours of buildings and materials used for construction which should blend very well with nature.

This was also an opportunity for the landowners to clarify any doubts and share their views on the proposed plan.

Concerns were mainly related to the road diversion and. Alwin Talma, one of the landowners, was unhappy with the proposed plans for a ring road which connects Anse Lazio to Cherimon as it crosses his property and suggested that other options be considered, such as linking the Mont Plaisir road to the Zimbabwe road.

Mr Talma’s daughter Elke Talma shared: “After all the long disputes and going to court we have finally been given the approval to develop our land and we have already handed in our plans for the construction of a new 60-room hotel. We are unsure of how the road diversion will affect our plans but otherwise I would say the idea of consulting the landowners to come up with the proposed plan is good. So far we are on the right track but we do need further discussions and clarifications.”

As the ring road shall not only affect the Anse Lazio community but will be of benefit to the island at large, further discussions will take place during future consultative meetings in the two districts on Praslin so as to gather the Praslinois’ views before coming to a final decision.

Text: Nadia Bédier, Photos: Romano Laurence