West Bay Club donates to Children Park
June 2008
History was made this week when Providenciales residents stepped out to witness the groundbreaking ceremony of its first beachside public 
park on Tuesday afternoon.
The Children’s Park, opposite the National Environmental Centre on the Lower Bight Road, is scheduled to open in December 2008.
The six acre public facility will offer a plethora of recreational and educational facilities to the public, consisting of a child’s playground including a beach volleyball area, picnic huts, craft markets, and an indigenous botanical garden.
Karen Delancy, MP for the Bight District, said: “If the ‘Beautiful by Nature’ Turks and Caicos Islands are the crowning act then the park must be the signature masterpiece.
“It’s so wonderful that the Bight has this facility where people can go spend and enjoy spending quality time together as a family.”
The funding of the Children’s Park is a collaborative effort between the Government and private sector, with Wymara and West Bay Club resorts making sizable financial contributions to attribute the Government’s own $1.5 million pledge of support.
Premier Michael Misick said: “This park is something we can be proud of as it is the first park to be developed on the beach in Providenciales.
“As you all know, there have been some issues regarding beach access over the past few years, so it is a joyous occasion to be able to celebrate an area that has been specifically set aside for people to enjoy the beach without having to go through a resort.”
McAllister Hanchell, Minister of Natural Resources, Fisheries, Maritime and the Environment, said he was proud that his department and department predecessors helped facilitate such a monumental community project.
“The 2005 PNP Manifesto stated: ‘We believe that the youth of our nation represents the promise of an even better future for our country,’” said Mr Hanchell.
“I am proud to say that projects like this represent our Government’s commitment to that manifesto by ensuring such opportunities for our youth so they can excel in every area of life.”
Mr Hanchell also said he was pleased to see the seeds of change for the future starting to take shape in the present. This is through a noticeable amount of Belonger contribution to the development of this park, with two Belonger companies, Apex Construction and Tucker Hill, being key contractors on the site.
Architectural firm, Simon Wood and Associates, are responsible for the design and concept of the park, with the project architect, Rebecca Huggins, implementing a design concept that is conducive to the founder’s intentions.
“This has always been the people’s park and it will continue to be so,” Rebecca said.
Provident signed over the land to the Crown in 2007, after being keepers of the title for 40 years.
Bengt Soderquist, managing director of Provident, first assigned six acres of land as ‘open space’ when his firm and predecessor, Fritz Ludington, was brought over from Sweden to subdivide the TCI into land plots.
“Although at the time the open space was not an issue in Providenciales we felt it was very important to mark out a section that gave people unlimited access to the beachfront for time and eternity,” said Mr Soderquist.
Through this classification and a series of attached covenants it means that as long as crown land stands on this island this park cannot be used for anything other than public space.
Mr Soderquist added: “Although the commercial value of the land is a phenomenal $25 to $30 million, making it available for endless generations to use freely is priceless.”