St. Paul’s MP Outlines Plan Address English Harbour Noise Dispute

St. Paul’s MP Chet Greene has proposed a solution to the ongoing noise pollution controversy in English Harbour, calling for designated quiet periods on weeknights while extending hours during peak tourism events.

The issue came to national attention last weekend when a DJ posted a video from Abracadabra nightclub showing patrons protesting after police ordered the music stopped at 1 am.

The incident sparked widespread debate about balancing the needs of the tourism industry with residents’ quality of life. Prime Minister Gaston Browne responded on social media, promising to address the issue. Following discussions, parties can now operate until 3 am.

Speaking during Friday’s budget debate, Greene acknowledged the complexity of the situation, describing it as “a clear case of competing interests.” He noted that English Harbour evolved organically rather than through careful planning.

“English Harbour, as we know it, as a yachting maker, was not designed, it evolved. If we had a clean sheet of paper today, design a marina, we would not design what we have today,” Greene said. “But we have it, we have to work with it. It’s a shared space, commercial and residential.”

Greene outlined a tiered approach to managing noise in the tourism hotspot. He recommended a quiet period beginning just after midnight or 1 am on weeknights and Sundays, allowing residents rest during the work week. For Fridays and Saturdays, he proposed extended hours during peak periods to accommodate the entertainment industry. During sailing week and regattas, all days would be treated like Friday and Saturday, with extended hours throughout the event.

“During sailing week, we treat sailing week, all sailing week, like we treat Friday and Saturday. It’s a one week event and we let go everything for everybody,” Greene explained.

The MP’s most significant recommendation involves creating a designated entertainment zone where purpose-built nightclubs with proper insulation could operate without disturbing nearby residents. “The recommendation I want to make more than anything is that we seek to create a zone, a zone and give permission for persons in the fete business to build purpose-built nightclubs,” Greene said. “In that way, you can have your fete from morning to night because your walls are insulated, you don’t affect anybody and so fete continues.”

Greene emphasized that both residents and entertainment operators must show flexibility and consideration. “The residents will be asked to be patient, be tolerant, understand that the economy impacts all,” he said, while also calling on party promoters to exercise discretion.

“You cannot expect to be in English Harbour at 4 o’clock on a Monday morning in a fete. It is just not practical,” Greene stated. “What happened to those school children? What happened to all the people up to sleep?”

The MP recalled speaking with a former Abracadabra employee who noted that years ago, “anything after 1 o’clock, the music dipped on the inside,” demonstrating that sound control doesn’t require shutting down entirely.

Greene reserved his strongest criticism for one establishment, directly calling out the owner of Abracadabra nightclub. “I want to call out the owner of Abracadabra by name. He has no respect for the authority. He has no respect for authority,” Greene said. “And so we must find a way to find a way to control and do his matter.”

Greene stressed the economic importance of maintaining English Harbour’s appeal to the yachting community. “There’s nobody who understands more than I do the importance of the sector. We don’t want one boat leave, neither for lack of water nor for any disruptions or or any disappointment in the social atmosphere,” he said.

However, he insisted that economic priorities cannot come at the expense of residents’ basic rights. “As a shared space, we have to work together,” Greene concluded, calling for cooperation between all stakeholders to find a workable solution that preserves both the tourism economy and community wellbeing.