The long awaited development of Pagee Beach in St Mary is gathering momentum with the latest move being a town hall meeting today.

The meeting, called by the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF), which is organising and funding the development of the public beach area, will be held at the location, starting at 2:00 pm. Representatives from the TEF will be visiting the parish to consult with residents for their input on the possible developments that they would like for the beach.

As such, persons in and around St Mary are invited to participate in this face-to-face meeting, which will provide a great opportunity to share ideas, pose questions and express thoughts on matters relating to the beach’s development.

DEVELOPMENT ON THE BOARD SINCE 2015

The town hall will be hosted as part of the TEF’s Beach Development Programme, which is aimed at enhancing the facilities at public beaches for greater enjoyment. Development of the beach has been on the drawing board since 2015 was taken over two years ago by TEF from another Government entity, the Tourism Product Development Company.

Since then, the TEF has been going through procedures such as tendering and taking steps to ensure there is no breach of Government’s procurement guidelines regarding Pagee Beach. The facility is expected to have changing rooms, bathrooms, gazebos, lifeguard huts, a restaurant, bars, commercial shops, waste water treatment plant, and parking lot.

Those fixes would address lingering concerns about the lack of amenities on the beach, as well as the authorities’ failure to tap into the potential for tourism at Pagee Beach.