Applicant's Handbook and Guide to Coastal Planning in Barbados

The Applicant’s Handbook and Guide to Coastal Planning 2010
5 REASONS FOR SETBACKS & OTHER POLICIES
The main reasons for setbacks and related policies are presented below. It is
important to appreciate that these reasons are in the greater national interest in
terms of public rights, safety, and the preservation of our natural and cultural
heritage.
5.1 Protection from coastal hazards
The coast acts as a buffer between land and sea and should remain as such.
Natural phenomena such as regular winter swells, storm surge and tsunamis can
have serious impacts on the physical infrastructure of the coast, and thus on public
safety and the Barbadian economy.
Figure 2. The
familiarly wide
Brown’s beach in
Carlisle Bay was
severely eroded
after Hurricane
Ivan in 2004.
Many properties
all along the
coastline suffered
some degree of
damage.
Therefore, the CZMU makes recommendations to the Chief Town Planner upon
assessment, and enforces the setbacks from the high water mark in order to help
reduce the vulnerability of developments on the coastline to coastal hazards.
Typical development setbacks as required in the ICMP are illustration in Figure 3
below.
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