Petrol Alliance Group Responds to Concerns About Fuel Station on Caye Caulker

A few weeks ago, residents of Caye Caulker voiced their concerns about a proposed fuel station and convenience store near the Split at the northern end of the island. Many of the property owners, mostly expats, are worried about the potential environmental impact of the project. They also claim they were never consulted by Petrol Alliance Group Holding Company Limited, the company planning to build the depot. In late December, Mark Leslie and his business partner, Elvis Landaverry, addressed these concerns to ease the residents’ fears. The Petrol Alliance Group owns lots 957 and 2016 on the leeward side of Caye Caulker. Earlier today, News Five spoke with Mark Leslie, a director of the San Ignacio-based company, to get more details.

 

On the phone: Mark Leslie, Director, Petrol Alliance Group Holdings

“We are planning to build a fuel station there.  We have done major research before even going into this project and we actually went ahead and applied for all our clearances and every other thing with the department as well, all the governmental departments that were necessary, inclusive of the Department of the Environment.  We have received environmental clearance from the department and like with all environmental clearances, they give you an environmental compliance plan which we must adhere to and inclusive in that compliance plan are things like mitigation schedules and whatever-have-you that would ensure, one: public safety, two: environmental safety. In all due respect, we did speak to most people before we went in there.  I have unlimited supporting letters from the residents of Caye Caulker and we did go speak to a lot of them and we still are continuing to get support letters from people.  Now when we applied through the village council, I believe it was maybe something that the village council should have mentioned to us, I am not trying to put down anybody, okay, but it was not something to say that we would have a public forum.  If there was something where the Caye Caulker Village Council or anybody would have advised us that a public forum is or would be necessary, it is something that we would gladly do, even if it means sitting at the village council, their office or wherever they choose and then maybe have some sort of public interview and we may do questions and answers.”