Apart from the embarrassment I feel as a Barbadian watching this Government display, in real time, a level of incompetence and lack of accountability that has set a new low for the BLP Administration, I am genuinely bewildered by Minister Marsha Caddle’s explanation for the withdrawal of approval for the Suarez Brothers Circus to operate at the Belle.
Minister Caddle has explained that the Belle site is unsuitable because it is located within the island’s most protected water zone and is in close proximity to the Belle Pumping Station, which supplies approximately 25 per cent of the country’s drinking water from the aquifer beneath the area.
If that is the Government’s argument, then I am asking, why does the same principle not apply to the Vineyard Housing Development in St. Philip?
The Suarez Brothers Circus is temporary. It comes to Barbados for a limited period and leaves. The Vineyard development, however, is permanent. The Government is proceeding with approximately 1,100 homes on some 80 acres of former agricultural land at a reported cost of $300 million, in an area where there are legitimate concerns about groundwater, Three Houses Spring and the Vineyard Reservoir.
If the Government is serious about protecting our water resources, then it must explain why the same level of concern is not being applied to Vineyard. Minister Caddle has spoken about “water protection policies.” I want to know whether those policies apply to Vineyard?
The Government cannot have one set of rules for a circus and another for a multimillion-dollar housing development. Water protection cannot be selective. Environmental protection cannot be selective.
Where is the Environmental Impact Assessment? Is the Vineyard site located over a public water supply recharge area? What assessment has been conducted on the potential impact of this development on groundwater quality and quantity? What safeguards are being implemented to protect the aquifer, Three Houses Spring, the Vineyard Reservoir and the communities that depend on these water resources?
Whether a person supports the BLP or the DLP, access to safe, clean and reliable water is important to every Barbadian household. As a proud Barbadian and DLP Spokesperson on Agriculture & Food Security, I refuse to sit idly by while Government continues to make decisions that could permanently damage the natural resources on which this country depends.
I am therefore calling on Prime Minister Mia Mottley to stop any further expansion of the Vineyard Housing Project until the Government publicly demonstrates that it will not compromise our groundwater, springs, water quality or water supply.
Amoy Gilding-Bourne, Attorney-at-Law
DLP Spokesperson on Agriculture & Food Security
August 20th 2026
