Gib’s Ocean Village gets green light to grow

AFTER a third round of debating by Gibraltar’s Development and Planning Commission (DPC), outline planning permission has been awarded for the new superyacht berths and short-stay and rental apartments in Marina Bay at Ocean Village.
Director of Ocean Village, Neil Crawford, said: “Of course we’re delighted at the news. It’s been a long road for us since December 2014, when the plans were submitted, and the project has generated a lot of interest in the form of overwhelming support, which outnumbered the occasional strong objection. This morning’s DPC meeting was well-attended and dedicated solely to our planning application. We came away with the right result, not only for us as developers but also for Gibraltar as a superyacht destination.”
The company argues that this green light brings Gibraltar a step closer to losing its reputation as ‘just’ a stop-off for cut-price fuel, and instead growing as a destination port.
Neil continues: “Our marina sees superyachts on a regular basis, but usually just for short periods of time or for fuel stops. Only recently a superyacht fuelled in Gibraltar but then continued up the coast to Puerto Banus… where the owners spent €300,000 in one shop. Main Street retailers and other Gibraltar businesses will relish being on the receiving end of this kind of investment from the superyacht industry.”