'Visual Pollution' among concerns expressed in Sheikh's Palace EIA

• Top - existing Palace, Bottom - new design wih roof villas

Among the many areas on which future generations will judge our administrations down the line of history – if they are intelligent and remain as naturally and cultural sensitive as they are promising to be – will be Visual Pollution.

To keep this argument simple I shall limit visual pollution for now to what most people consider to be simple eyesores in the environment.

Structures that make the general beholder uneasy; that should belong somewhere else and not where it actually is.

Sometimes these structures, though they speak not, may carry a sense of arrogance about them, perhaps even a sense of lack of taste on the part of the person who built it, its creator, its owner.

Whether you have thought about it or not, may I introduce a thought process in your mind as we talk about visual pollution, and that is the notion of Opulence.

Seychelles is so blessed with simple natural beauty that it is quite simple and indeed very easy for a structure to offend by its opulence, and as a consequence of its opulence it is not only out of place but tends to offend.

They tend to convey a message that the developer did not pay enough respect to its surroundings, its sense of place, its sense of belonging.

Two structures come to mind immediately which fit into this category – the now abandoned Mahe Beach Hotel at Port Glaud; the subject of the recent EIA meeting at Grand Anse Mahe’s Community Centre, the Sheikh’s Palace at La Misere, and I will add Providence, an ugly sprawling unplanned mish-mash of buildings that could well have been well planned and developed as our second town.

The case of the luxury Palace

Most of those who attended the EIA meeting involving the conversion of the Sheikh’s Palace to a luxury Wellness destination, walked out with their head hanging low from the weight of not only unanswered questions, but the fact that the project could be a ‘fait accompli’ and the meeting was just going through the motions.

A concerned voice was raised about the skyline where sits the Palace, and he shared  with me an odd thought: “Perhaps Seychelles needs a Minister of Aesthetics instead of a Minster of Environment”.

The architect of the project took some flack for plans to add to the height of the building, thus aggravating the skyline issue. A participant told her that he knew of two iconic buildings in the Gulf - the Louvre in Abu Dhabi and I. M. Pei’s Museum of Islamic Art in Doiha and that Mahe’s skyline and mountain silhouette was our equivalent; and putting a large commercial building on that skyline was akin to placing McDonald’s Golden Arches on top of the two Gulf buildings.

Saturday’s meeting at Grand Anse was the second of two meetings about the project. The first was at Eden Bleu for a dozen Kennedy Road residents with a zoom meeting with the UAE delegation - lawyers, architects, MEP etc.

The second was for the Public at Grande Anse social centre at which the UAE reps were present in person; as well as the local architect George Payet and come health representatives. There was no one representing Tourism or Planning, as far as I understand.

I enquired from the Tourism Principal Secretary, Sherin Francis, what happened to the idea of not giving permissions for Change of Use, and she replied: “They had approached us with their project way before the moratorium for advice on change of use and to receive room allocation”.

A Chequered history

The Palace has a chequered history. You may recall that when the plan for the Palace was submitted, the Planning Authority refused permission but a waiver was given by then President James Michel. It is believed that planning permission for a change of use to a commercial hotel was obtained by a waiver from President Wavel Ramkalawan in 2021.

There are obviously sound reasons for prohibiting buildings on the skyline particularly as Seychelles sells itself on its natural beauty. The proposed hotel will be on the same footprint and developed from much of the existing structure.

Much concern was expressed as to its likely impact on the dwindling population of the precarious White Eye or Zwazo Linet, as well as the likely repeat of the sewage water problems, often referred to as ‘Delo Kaka’, an episode in which many residents of La Misere are still awaiting for the second batch of compensation payments, recently promised by President Ramkalawan.

A question of Sustainability

During the meeting, one of the attendees, Nelson Renaud, expressed his concerns at the fact that SIB had granted permission to proceed to the next step of carrying out an EIA.

"You were given a plot of land to stay there, live there and not build a hotel," he said.

Sheikh Khalifa bought the former United States' satellite tracking station land for $395,000 in 2005.

Renaud said SIB should not have given this plot of land to do that and expressed his concern that "SIB is asking all Seychellois to develop their plot of land in a sustainable manner" causing him to ask the developers whether the project was one that would be sustainable.

• The Land use Plan

The developer's legal counsel, Basil Siddiqui, asked that the project be looked at with an open mind.

"Do not be overly cynical. Look at the conduct of the project's particular owner. This particular project owner has actively taken part for two decades in the development of infrastructure and other amenities in this country," he added.

Meanwhile, once the EIA is completed, interested parties will have a fortnight to view the document.