FOR the next five months at least, no development can take place at the Blue Lagoon in Portland — including the hotly debated Pellew Island project — as steps are taken to have the area declared a national monument.

Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, Olivia 'Babsy' Grange, recently signed a preservation notice to protect the Blue Lagoon and surrounding areas from any development that may affect the integrity of the beautiful natural heritage and its surrounding waters.

DEVON Wilson, developer of Tropical Lagoon Heights Resort in Portland, has admitted liability for breaches of the Beach Control Act, having entered a guilty plea before the Port Antonio Resident Magistrate's Court on Monday.

In a lush corner of Jamaica, a skirmish is under way over a spring-fed lagoon where the changing light of day turns water from shimmering jade to brilliant cobalt.  Tree-fringed Blue Lagoon is a dazzling, 400-foot-long (122-meter-long) teardrop of water that meets the Caribbean along a coast that was once a hideaway for the rich and famous and a setting for a film starring Brooke Shields.

THERE'S a storm brewing over the now controversial development of the world famous Blue Lagoon tourist attraction in Portland, as green lobbyists insist the area should be left unspoiled while the developers maintain they are there to stay.

THE Jamaica Environment Trust (JET) has written to Prime Minister Bruce Golding objecting to construction of an artificial beach at Blue Lagoon in Portland.