Lease setback strikes PI lighthouse entrepreneur

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A BAHAMIAN entrepreneur battling to restore Paradise Island’s lighthouse yesterday suffered a setback in his fight with the Government and Royal Caribbean after the Supreme Court found he does not possess a valid Crown Land lease.

Sir Ian Winder, the chief justice, ruled that “regrettably” there was no binding lease agreement between Toby Smith’s Paradise Island Lighthouse and Beach Club and the minister thenresponsible for Crown Lands (ex-prime minister, Dr Hubert Minnis) because the latter did not execute the necessary paperwork by applying his signature.

Mr Smith last night declined to comment when contacted by Tribune Business, so his next moves - including the likelihood of an appeal - are uncertain. However, the chief justice’s verdict potentially removes much of the leverage he held over both the Government and cruise giant as a result of the ongoing legal proceedings. His position would have been immeasurably strengthened had Sir Ian found in his favour, but Mr Smith now faces the prospect of having to negotiate with both the Government and Royal

Caribbean - and having to rely on their goodwill - for his project to survive and move forward in its present form in the absence of valid Crown Land leases. An appeal, though, would keep the two subject parcels - involving a collective five acres - tied up at least temporarily in the courts.

Mr Smith had based much of his three-year legal fight

Fidelity targets $25m annual profits despite 2022’s miss

• Chief Justice rules Crown Land deal not valid

• Not binding because Minnis did not execute

• Verdict boost for Royal Caribbean’s plans on a January 7, 2020, letter from Richard Hardy, acting director of the Department of Lands and Surveys, which was headlined “approval for Crown Land lease” over the two tracts he wanted. These covered a two and threeacre parcel, respectively, and included the lighthouse at Paradise Island’s western end

SEE PAGE B5