58 | Q&A SPECIAL WORDS | Dave Ames
OPP INTERVIEW
www.opp.org.uk | DECEMBER 2011
Harlequin Q & A
Dave Ames, the chairman of Harlequin Hotels & Resorts Ltd, has agreed to work exclusively with OPP this month to answer questions posed by you - the overseas property industry. His development company is one of the most high-profi le in the market and OPP readers were keen to fi nd out what is happening. We did not have the time or the space to reproduce every question we received, but here is a truly representative sample of the most frequently raised issues.
2011 and the feedback and reaction of the guests has been great, says chairman Dave Ames.
H
Bookings are already very healthy for 2012 and most of the major tour operators in the UK, including Kuoni, Virgin Holidays, and BA Holidays are all offering the Buccament Bay Resort in their brochures for the coming year. Harlequin says that it expects 2012 to be very successful. Every month, Harlequin holds Open Days at its offi ces in Basildon where investors and agents are invited to come along to hear
arlequin’s fi rst resort, Buccament Bay Resort, offi cially opened in April
updates on the developments. These sessions are followed by a Question and Answer session with Dave Ames, where he answers questions like the ones you have posed to him below.
Q. Does the St Lucia site have planning permission to construct what is being sold? A. The simple answer to this is yes! The Government of St Lucia has been very supportive and has given us approval in principle to build the resort. We are in the process of completing the various studies and detailed plans that are required in order to obtain the fi nal approval to begin
construction next year, but, in the meantime, work is already underway to construct the access road and the site offi ce, for which we have full planning permission. Just last month I met with the local community and the Minister of Agriculture, the Honourable Ezechiel Joseph - who is also the MP for the area where The Marquis Estate is being developed – and provided updates on the resort plans and how work’s progressing. We have awarded six local contractors with the initial construction work at the Estate, which will create some 100 jobs locally. The news was very well received by the local constituents, who can see that
The Marquis Estate is already having a positive social impact on their lives.
Q. I have purchased a unit from you in Barbados and visited there in August after being told work had started. When I got there nothing had been done, it’s still rough land. I would like to know what the situation is as the fi rst phase is due to be handed over next year? A. I don’t know where you were taken, but work had indeed started in August to clear and mark out the land. At that time, work had also started on preparing the land for the infrastructure. I admit that the work at The Merricks Resort
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