Why are they trying to destroy Winnifred Beach?
( a brief history of our case)

Dear Editor,

The Free Winnifred Beach Benevolent Society (FWBBS) would like to raise alarm about plans by the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) to engage in development of the Winnifred Beach to the detriment of the environment and against the wishes of the community.

Winnifred Beach
Winnifred Beach has been traditionally used by the community, visitors and Jamaicans for over 50 years. The Society’s objective is to ensure that Winnifred Beach is a place where rich and poor alike can enjoy one of Jamaica's most beautiful natural assets free of cost and where we would love to promote sustainable tourism and environmentally friendly development in keeping with the intent of the original Trust established for the beach. The beach and most of the surrounding land were sold to the Urban Development Corporation (UDC) in the 1970s.

About the Free Winnifred Beach Benevolent Society (FWBBS)
FWBBS was formally registered in January 2009 for the primary purpose of bringing together the vendors and others in Portland who have an interest in conserving Winnifred beach in Fairy Hill Portland for the continued benefit of the public and empowering them to continue pursuing this role. In the firm belief that Jamaicans need accessible community spaces, the community has over the years trained lifeguards, trained vendors on proper environmental management and maintenance of the beach and has also implemented garbage disposal and plastic recycling initiatives on the beach without assistance from UDC. The membership of the Society is broad-based and includes not only vendors on the beach but several prominent hotel proprietors in Portland, local business people, attorneys, members of the Portland Environmental Protection Association (PEPA), the Portland Parish Development Committee and the Jamaica Environment Trust (JET). The FWBBS has been recognized for its environmental projects and in 2011 FWBBS won the Jamaica Environmental Action Award for Best Environmental Community and the environmental award from the Environmental Foundation of Jamaica and Michael Manley Foundation.

The Court Case
In 2007, after the UDC announced plans to develop the beach, five members of FWBBS filed a claim in the Resident Magistrate’s Court in Portland seeking a declaration of the public’s prescriptive right to access and use the beach.


in 2015, the matter was amicably resolved at mediation and through mutual agreement with each party respecting the other’s rights and as such a Consent Order was made by the Court. The Corporation granted the easement to be recorded on a title that Winnifred will always be a public bathing beach.

FWBBS contention with the UDC was that we firmly believe that the community should be integrally involved in the management of the beach. It is with this in mind that we proposed that in addition to endorsing the right of the public to access and use the beach, the UDC should establish a multi-stakeholder committee with delegated responsibility for the management of the beach. The proposed committee was to include members of UDC, members of FWBBS, the Portland Public Health Department, the Portland Parish Council, the National Environment and Planning Agency, the Portland Parish Development Committee, PEPA, the local chapter of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association, the Fairy Hill Community Association, and the Fairy Hill Youth Club. In their hands the beach could be developed with a deep knowledge about local matters and a serious commitment to develop and protect the beach for the benefit of the public.

The TEF, seemingly, having no respect for this history and the development plans already established for the beach, has gone ahead with procurement for construction services aimed towards works on the beach without even consulting with the FWBBS and the management stakeholders of the beach.

We have had a view of the TEF plans for the beach and these do not appear to be in line with environmental protection and the eco-friendly vision that FWBBS has for the beach.

Our vision is for a beach without entrance fees where funds for beach management are acquired through environmental projects and supplemented by donations. As a non-profit registered community based-organization, FWBBS is in a unique position to solicit and obtain funding from donor organisations to not only increase its capacity to assist in the management of the beach but also to contribute to the development and operation of the beach. All we ask is for the TEF is grant us the opportunity to continue doing so as we have been successfully doing.