2011 Crown Land Policy
The Government announced the introduction of a new 2011 Crown Land Policy for the Turks and Caicos Islands. The policy sets out new measures to improve transparency, accountability and responsibility in relation to Crown land management. Click here to download the policy.
New Crown Land Ordinance
Work has already begun on drafting a new Crown Land Ordinance in accordance with the 2011 Crown Land Policy with assistance from a EU funded legislative drafting team. A working draft will soon be available for wider consultation in the coming months.
Crown Land Inventory Maps
The Government remains committed to providing the public with as much information as possible concerning the management of Crown land. Crown Land Inventory maps are now being produced to increase transparency and public awareness. Click here to go to the Crown Land Unit page to find out more.
Edition 4 of the Crown Land Allocation Register
The Government maintains a Crown Land Allocation Register, produced by the Crown Land Unit. The register sets out information in relation to Crown land that has been allocated by way of grant or lease to private individuals or corporations. Click here to go to the Crown Land Unit page to find out more.
Conditional Purchase Lease Limited Time Scheme
The Government has announced a new limited time scheme to allow holders of current and expired conditional purchase leases the opportunity to apply to purchase their freehold titles. Click here to find out more about the scheme.
Hon. Minister McAllister Hanchell said that the Government is committed to modernizing the Turks and Caicos Islands and expressed the benefits of working with the Cayman Islands. "With the professionals from the Cayman Islands Lands and Survey Department team we can rapidly advance our Land Registry to benefit all the people of these Islands, including local businesses and foreign investments. Presently, we face substantial delays in processing transactions due to our paper based system. Implementing a computerised database, along with the restructuring of our land registry office and staff training will allow us to execute requests more efficiently and safeguard the integrity of data for future generations."
Discussions between the two countries have been ongoing since March 2007 when the Turks and Caicos Islands Government approached the CI Lands and Survey Department for advice on improving the island's Land Registry system. Cayman officials recognized they could offer technical and practical assistance and developed a proposal that outlined a long term cooperative agreement between the overseas territories. Permanent Secretary for the Cayman Island's Ministry of District Administration, Planning, and Agriculture & Housing, Mr. Gomez, said "I'm extremely pleased to have the opportunity to share our technology, expertise and knowledge with the Turks and Caicos Government, with whom we have a long and friendly relationship. The Cayman Islands' electronic registry system was launched in 1996, and we have twelve years of practical experience with it to share."
Cayman's team will split their time between the Land Registry office in Grand Turk and their office in Cayman. The planned schedule is based on a nine month implementation and training period but the agreement between the island's will extend for a minimum of three years thereafter to ensure the new systems are properly maintained and improved to meet the anticipated demand.