Curly, Jon and I (Lynda) returned from The Bahamas late last week having made significant progress with various areas of the project. You will recall that there are four conditions attaching to the Approval in Principle which we have obtained for the development. These are:

1 - Town Meeting

We have now successfully complied with the condition requiring that we hold a Town Meeting to present the project to the officials and residents of Long Island. The Town Meeting took place on Long Island on the evening of 27th November and was quite an affair. The Government sent a delegation of 17 from Nassau, including three Ministers and representatives from all of the major public utilities. The BEST commission, which is the Government’s environmental agency, were also represented.

Simms High School Hall, some 10 minutes drive south of Stella Maris, was the venue for the meeting and had been prepared to seat around 150 people. But, the attendance was far greater than that, 400 according to the local press, and many people listened through the open doors and even looked in through the open windows.

Speeches were made by the Ministers in attendance and we were then invited to present our plans. We had been told in advance by one of the Ministers that, “The silence with which Long Islanders will listen will stun you and the strength of their interrogation will alarm you.” So it turned out. Our audience listened carefully and politely held their questions until after our presentation, but when the questions came they were numerous, well informed and for the most part entirely pertinent.

Concerns were expressed over environmental issues and particularly what damage, if any, our plans may cause to fishing grounds. Keith Bishop, of Islands by Design, the company preparing our Environmental Impact Assessment was on hand to answer these questions. The ground data his company has already gathered enabled him to give reassurance on these matters which was accepted by the questioners. Keith also confirmed that their studies of the site have revealed that there are no endangered species present.

Many of the questions were regarding opportunities for employment. We made it clear that we are not a company with hundreds of our own people to move onto the island and that we were pleased to see that the local community had such interest in the project. Our assurances that there would be opportunities for Long Islanders were met with equal assurances that Long Islanders wanted those opportunities and would be swift to take them when they came along. It became overwhelmingly clear to us that what this development means to the local community is that their families will be able to return home and even more importantly it will no longer be necessary for their children to leave the island as soon as they leave school in order to find sustainable employment.

Equally tough questions were asked of the Government and replies given by the Ministers confirmed publicly that:

• The Government believes this development will be good for Long Island and they will work with us to make sure it happens.
• The Government will also work with us to ensure that the required airport capacity is available.
• BEC (the national electricity utility) is already in negotiation to increase generating capacity on the island to meet the increased need.
• A new reverse osmosis water production facility is to be provided to meet the requirements of our development and the remainder of northern Long Island.
• The most frequently used 20% of the roads on the existing Stella Maris estate are henceforth to be maintained at Government expense.
• Long Island has been prioritised for highway improvement.
• The Government have identified a site on the island for a deep water dock and work on the facility is to commence soon.

Overall, the Islanders declared themselves overwhelmingly in favour of the project and so this becomes the first of the four conditions attaching to our planning approval in principle to have been dealt with favourably.

2. Environmental Impact Assessment

The collection of site and bathymetric (water movement) data for the EIA has been completed. The consultants preparing the assessment, Islands By Design, confirmed to us some time ago that the data revealed no “deal breakers”. However, there are environmental factors which do need to be taken into consideration and we were advised to address these matters by submitting a revised Master Plan with the EIA.

Accordingly we held a three day planning meeting at Stella Maris which was attended by:

• EDSA:    the company who drafted our present master plan
  Islands by Design who are preparing the EIA
• ATM:    marine and coastal environmentalists and engineers
• European Golf Design:    a golf course design partnership formed between IMG and the European Tour
• Jones Lang LaSalle:    a global estate agency who will be working to secure a top hotel operator for the PSG hotel facility

The purpose of this planning meeting was to initiate the production of the next Master Plan in a way which will ensure not only that the environmental issues are satisfactorily addressed, but also that the resort components are appropriately sized and correctly positioned within the development to take best advantage of the topography and spectacular views.

We do not expect the next version of the Master Plan (the first draft of which we expect to receive just before Christmas) to be massively different from the now familiar one which accompanied our planning application in August last year. However, we do anticipate that it will include three very significant enhancements:

i) ATM have confirmed that the results of the bathymetric survey support the creation of a classic Bahamian beach in the marina area. They have also tested the sand that will be dredged from the marina access channel and confirmed that this is of excellent quality for beach use.
ii) Jones Lang LaSalle have confirmed that with this beach being created it is highly desirable to move the hotel site from the Atlantic side to the marina area and to re-position it adjacent to the new beach.
iii) The land on the Atlantic coast vacated by the hotel allows us to extend the golf course right down to the coastline. This will create a spectacular signature 9th hole with crashing Atlantic waves right alongside. In the words of Gary Johnston of European Golf Design:

“Although there is no set criteria for what makes a great location for a golf course there are certain aspects that we look for and quite simply Port St George has the lot. The gentle hills and undulating ridges not only make for a more interesting golfing experience but also provide good vantage points from where you can take in the wonderful vistas and sea views. Although the dense bush makes getting around the site difficult just now the lush vegetation will add to overall natural look and experience of playing golf in this beautiful location. Hidden amongst the bush are a number of ponds and small lakes which will undoubtedly be incorporated into the design and create a number of dramatic of exciting golf holes on what is certain to become one of the worlds best resorts.”

The EIA, incorporating the new Master Plan, is scheduled for submittal to Government before Christmas and we are hopeful of this being signed off by the Bahamas Government by Easter 2008.

3. Consultation with Utilities

These consultations were begun in March 2007 and will formally be concluded once the revised Master Plan is to hand. However, the utility companies were represented at the Town Meeting referred to above and in their replies to questions confirmed that matters were in hand to provide utilities to the development. So, it is anticipated that these discussions will be concluded very quickly and easily once the revised Master Plan is available.

4. Evidence of Funding

Two directors from our proposed funding partners made a five day visit coinciding with our recent trip. During this time they met with the Ministry of Tourism, local banks, nature conservationists, Islands By Design etc.

The most important of these meetings was with the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Works & Transport. This meeting was also attended by Curly. The two Ministers could not have been more supportive of our plans with the Deputy Prime Minister stating that “Government is one hundred per-cent committed to this development”. Government support for the required infrastructure improvements and expansion of airlift was also confirmed during the meeting.

Summary

Overall, the message remains the same. We are moving steadily forward towards our objective of full planning permissions being granted and we remain on course to achieve this objective by the end of March 2008. Our current expectation is that the 60 day Right to Buy period will probably be June/July 2008.

Next Update Presentation

We expect to be hosting our next update meeting during January 2008 and we will be in touch again with a date for that as soon as we can.

Best wishes from us all for a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year.