THE BOTTOM – On Thursday, June 8th, 2023, the Ministry of Interior Affairs and Kingdom Relations (BZK) representative Henk Kats had the opportunity to meet with the residents of Saba to present a brief presentation on the Spatial Development Program currently being developed. Accompanying Kats for support was Stijn Schep who works for the consultancy firm Grant Thornton stationed in The Netherlands. It was a town hall style meeting, leaving room for free discussion.

Schep began the presentation on exactly what the BES Spatial Development Planning Principal Act for the Caribbean Netherlands is and explained what it means to Saba. The Spatial Development Act prescribes that the Ministry of Interior and Kingdom Relations develops a Spatial Development Program in which national policy objectives are identified and therefore have an implication for spatial planning in the Caribbean Netherlands. 

Schep noted that what was being developed now was the Spatial Development Program and that this was not the Spatial Development Plan for Saba yet, as Saba currently has no Spatial Development Plan. He also added that the law proposes the responsibility of developing a Spatial Development Plan for the territories of the island to its local government. Therefore, now is the perfect time to work together in the development stages of the Zoning Spatial Development Program as this provides guidelines for what Saba’s Spatial Development Plan once completed should look like, Schep noted.

10-year mark

The Spatial Development Program Caribbean Netherlands is an overview of the national policy objectives and guidelines for Spatial Planning and is not the actual regulation for Spatial Planning. The program has a 10-year mark where it can be revisited and revised, but must be reviewed prior to this mark and updated if necessary.