FALMOUTH, Trelawny

The promoters who reportedly denied the public access to the popular Burwood Beach on Christmas Eve might have to forfeit their $10,000 security deposit for allegedly breaching the contract regulating the terms under which they were allowed to use the facility for a stage show.

The forfeiture, which will be pushed by the Trelawny Parish Council at next Tuesday’s finance and administration committee meeting could be followed up with prosecution, as well as a ban from staging shows at the facility in the future, according to Fernandez Smith, the vice-chairman of the Trelawny Parish Council’s finance and administration committee.

“At the moment we are not sure if we can prosecute the promoters but we are going to research the various law and by-laws of the council to see if there are provisions in them where we can prosecute… If there is, we are definitely going to take legal action because the promoters blatantly embarrassed the council and disrespected the people,” he told the Observer West.

Last month, Smith publicly threatened to have promoters who engaged in the long-time corrupt practice of charging the public exorbitant fees to use the public beach which advertises free access to the public from Wednesdays to Sundays between the hours of 8:00 am and 5:00 pm, prosecuted.

He promised that the council along with the police would ensure the public free access to the facility.

But Smith told the Observer West that during the ‘Trelawny Christmas Splash’ event on Christmas Eve scores of persons, including visitors to the island, were turned away when they refused to pay the promoters the $500 fee they demanded.

” I am totally embarrassed at the situation, and at our next finance and administration meeting I am going to call for some heads to roll because I can’t understand why the revenue department did not carry our instructions,” said Smith, who said he took photographs of people being charged to get past the barricaded area of the beach.

According to Smith, the revenue department of the local authority was responsible for ensuring that the promoters of the event abide by its contract with the council.

In the meantime, a prominent Montego Bay attorney is advising that the local authority has the option of seeking redress through the courts.

“If the promoters took control of the facility before the time stated in the contract then that amounts to trespass and then if the promoters in fact collected money during the beach hours then the issue of collection money, illegally, will arise,” the attorney explained.

However one of the promoters, Alrick Pearce, has denied that beach-goers were not allowed free access into the facility between the hours of 8:00 am and 5:00 pm.

“Even though we rented the beach for the whole day we did not turn away anybody,” Pearce said, expressing surprise at Smith’s allegation.

“I am not afraid of Smith’s threat. We rented the place from the Trelawny Parish Council and we did not breach anything,” added Pearce, who have staged more than 25 events over the past 10 years at the facility.

During that time he said, he had never been asked to forfeit his security of $10,000. He also said beach-goers were never charged a fee before 5:00 pm.

Exhibiting documents to prove that the facility was duly rented from the local authority, Pearce said that within another few days, he would again apply to the council for permission to stage another event at the facility.

The event, which he said will feature DJ, Buju Banton, is set for February 18.