Five landmark beach access court cases go to trial starting today

Durrant Pate/Contributor

Local beach access campaigners have stepped up the fight over the privatisation of ecologically sensitive public coastlines, arming themselves with evidence and legal arguments to convince the courts to rule in their favour.

These activists are challenging colonial-era law giving the government the right to privatise certain shorelines,  demanding ‘free, legal, unfettered, forever rights’ to use beaches. 

The court cases are to prevent the government from cutting off access to more beaches, namely Mammee Bay and Little Dunn’s River in St Ann, Blue Lagoon in Portland, Bob Marley beach in St Andrew, and Flankers/Providence beach in the tourism capital of Montego Bay.

Spearheaded by the Jamaica Beach Birthright Environmental Movement (Jabbem), these environmental lawsuits tackle coastal access and privatisation.

Five cases being tried

Mammee Bay (St. Ann)

• Legal challenges stemming from community protests and the closure of this popular coastline.
• St Ann’s Bay Parish Court: June 15, 2026
• Court of Appeals, King Street, Kingston

Little Dunn’s River (St. Ann)

• Efforts to prevent development and protect the coastal ecosystem from privatisation. Adverse Possession/Land Rights.
• St Ann’s Bay Parish Court: June 18, 2026

Blue Lagoon (Portland):

• Action to ensure public rights and stop the privatisation of the famous lagoon.
• Portland Resident Magistrate’s Court: June 19, 22, 24, & 26; September 28, 29 & 30 2026

Bob Marley Beach (St. Andrew): 

• Cases defending public, historical access to this iconic beach space.
• Sutton Street Parish Court Civil Division, Kingston: July 21, 2026

Flankers/Providence Beach (Montego Bay)

• Fights for environmental protection and public access against development in the tourism hub. 
• Last in Court at Montego Bay Parish Court, St James: May 5 2026

Campaigners mounting strong challenge

The campaigners are gathering documentary evidence to mount a strong challenge to the move to privatise these beaches, arguing that ceding their shorelines to big hotel chains enriches private investors and benefits tourists and outsiders while depriving Jamaicans who depend on the sea for their livelihoods, leisure and health.

In the case of Mammee Bay, the legal battle mounted by Jabbem started in 2020 after community members clashed with police in violent protests over the closure of Mammee Bay, in the popular tourist parish of St Ann. Jabbem’s founder, Devon Taylor, described the cases as a fight for survival, contending, “The sea is the only source of wild food in Jamaica. And when you cut us off from the sea by denying us access, you are actually setting us up to starve.” 

Roseroy Gay, 64, who has fished the waters of the Blue Lagoon since 1979, pointed to fishing zone changes and beach closures, which have resulted in him needing support from children and other family members abroad. Other livelihoods are also at risk, such as Clive “Up Up” Ivy, who sells painted woodcarvings and bead necklaces in Little Dunn’s River, emphasising that the uncertainty and closures of the beach are having a marked impact on his ability to earn a living.

JABBEM and other community groups hope the cases will end the 1956 Beach Control Act, which gave the state ownership of the island’s foreshore and seabed, meaning anyone wanting to use or develop a beach needed government permission. 

The campaigners say the law, which dates back to when Jamaica was a British colony, props up a multibillion-dollar all-inclusive tourism industry that funnels profits out of the country or into the hands of an elite minority.

Perpetuated landlessness and inequity 

Taylor declared that the system perpetuated landlessness and inequity, citing political unwillingness to really address this injustice. Environmental and Climate Change Minister Matthew Samuda posited that while the idea of access needs to be explored, the government has to consider how it could convert Jamaica’s natural assets into “economic benefit that helps you, me, every single citizen, the poorest among us, the richest among us.”

He said between 112,000 and 116,000 Jamaicans were employed in the tourism sector, and an estimated 300,000 to 350,000 – more than 10% of the population – benefited through connected industries such as farming, transportation, craft vending and electrical engineering.

According to him, “recent approvals for new developments … especially where public land was involved in the development, have insisted that developers carve out corridors to the sea. Jamaica has the commitment of its government to ensure that its natural assets also benefit its citizens.”

Last March, Prime Minister, Andrew Holness, proposed a beach access and management policy, which promises to modernise the legislation and increase access. However, campaigners say the policy still allows unacceptable restrictions.