Privy Council Ruling Undermines Barbudan Communal Land Claims as $7‑Million Beach Resort Advances

Barbuda’s land has been held collectively since emancipation in 1834, a system formalised by the 2007 Barbuda Land Act. Under this law, citizens may lease plots but do not own them outright; major developments require communal consultation. After Hurricane Irma destroyed Miranda Beazer’s Pink Sands Beach Bar in 2017, foreign developers offered large sums for her lease, which she refused. The bulldozers later demolished what remained of her bar, prompting a legal fight to regain access. To allow the Beach Club Barbuda resort to proceed, parliament passed the Paradise Found Act in 2015, exempting the project from the 2007 Land Act. Campaigners challenged this exemption, taking the case to the UK’s Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, the final court of appeal for Antigua and Barbuda.

The Privy Council ruled in 2022 that rights accorded to Barbudans solely because of their status do not constitute a property interest. Plots at the Beach Club Barbuda resort start at around seven million US dollars. Meanwhile, the Jamaica Beach Birthright Environmental Movement reports that under one percent of Jamaica’s coastline is freely accessible to locals.

The ruling removes a potential legal barrier for developers seeking to convert communal beachfront into exclusive resorts. For Barbudans, it weakens the argument that ancestral status grants enforceable property rights, leaving leaseholders vulnerable to displacement. The Jamaica statistic highlights a broader regional pattern where coastal access for residents is severely limited. The Beach Club’s 400‑acre development, slated for completion later this year, will include luxury villas and beachfront homes, further restricting local use of the shoreline.