What is the PDP?
The Draft Physical Development Plan 2017, for Barbados is intended to provide a vision for sustainable growth and development of the nation by setting out policies to guide relationships among land uses, built form, mobility, community facilities and physical infrastructure. It is also intended to be a framework to facilitate and guide investment, both public and private, in Barbados to the year 2035 to advance a healthy, prosperous and resilient nation.
History of the PDP
The PDP is a document which sets out a settlement and growth pattern for the orderly and progressive development of our island state. Since the first PDP of the 1970’s, this current exercise represents the third amendment thereto and comes at a critical time in Barbados’ development when resiliency and adaptation to climate change have become necessities. This document provides the foundation to the future sustainable development of Barbados.
The first Physical Development Plan for Barbados was published in 1970 and came fully into operation in 1976. Since that time, Barbados has experienced many important changes in the pattern of economic, demographic and physical development, making it necessary at key intervals to carry out island-wide review of the settlement patterns and update the Physical Development Plan. This has resulted in the adoption of an updated PDP in 1991 and again in 2003. The concept of sustainable development emerged in the 1986 review, leading up to the 1991 Plan, and remains a critical Government commitment today as is evidenced by Barbados’ recent signatory to the COP21 Agreement and the New Urban Agenda. Today Barbados remains one of the few nations in the Caribbean region to have a national physical development plan. The amendment to the Physical Development Plan, 2003, is a critical opportunity to respond to the key development issues and community development opportunities prevailing on the island over the past decade. Through this PDP amendment, there is an opportunity to strengthen this policy and investment framework to ensure Barbados is resilient, prosperous island with sustainable and healthy communities.