After months of having been left unattended, the buildings of Celina’s Atlantic Resort (CAR), Kitty seawall have started to decay, as the Atlantic Ocean continues to lay claim to it.
Stabroek News visited the once popular resort which has been transformed into an urban jungle. Overgrown vegetation covers most of the ground and the buildings are in a deplorable condition. One of the main buildings at the northern end of the resort has started to crumble since it is exposed to the brunt of the incoming waves.
The once thriving restaurant and bar has become a resting place for vagrants and some of them have set up hammocks and other makeshift shelters around the area. Pathways which were once well maintained by the resort operator have also been left to the mercy of the ocean and are barely discernible.
The proprietor was in the process of rehabilitating the entity in 2015 when the works were brought to an abrupt end following the intervention of the Ministry of Public Infrastructure. For months, prior to the intervention by the Ministry, the CAR ignored several cease orders and opted to continue their illegal construction on the foreshore. Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson had stated that the ministry would be launching an investigation into the matter.
The area had been leased to businessman Bernard Yhun and was a popular nightspot over the years.
In November, 2011, the Mayor and City Council had denied that permission had been granted for the construction that was ongoing at the time. While permission had been approved for the facility’s initial construction, permission had not been given for any further construction and expansion.
Moreover, questions had been raised on whether or not the permission should have been initially granted for the construction of the resort, given how environmentally sensitive the area surrounding the facility is.
In April, 2012, Guyanese Dr. Maya Trotz had observed, while chairing a session on Climate change adaptation- educating and innovating for tourism sustainability at the 13th Annual Caribbean Conference on Sustainable Tourism Develop-ment, that the resort was built on a mangrove growing area and posed a sea defence threat.
