West Bay’s Concerned Citizens Group will meet tonight to chart the next moves in their campaign to thwart closure of the road at Public Beach, rejecting charges by Premier McKeeva Bush of lying.

This evening’s 7pm John Cumber School gathering will also look at a recently completed analysis of 4,185 signatures on a petition opposing the closure. The document, presented in a 12 December ceremony to Governor Duncan Taylor, has been criticised for a series of irregularities, including names of visitors, children, groups and a number of duplicates.

“We have looked into everything, and are being fair, honest and truthful,” said Alice Mae Coe, head of Concerned Citizens. “We have never misled anyone. We have gone through this with a fine-tooth comb.”

The petition, launched in the summer, opposes the proposed closure of 2,500 feet of West Bay road between Trafalgar Place and Yacht Drive, re-routing traffic onto the Esterley Tibbetts Highway, facilitating Dart Realty redevelopment of the old Courtyard Marriott Hotel into a four-star beachfront property.

Part of the Dart-government $1.5 billion, 30-year ForCayman Alliance programme of infrastructure and community improvement, the hotel redevelopment also involves expansion of Public Beach facilities, retaining full access with trails, bike paths, parking and recreational areas.

Despite the 12 December handover of the Concerned Citizens petition, Premier McKeeva Bush, Dart and the National Roads Authority on 15 December signed a “mini-accord” kicking off construction of the 9,300-foot extension of the Esterley Tibbetts Highway from the Courtyard Marriott into West Bay, the initial phase of the redevelopment.

On Tuesday, Premier McKeeva Bush accused the West Bay group and its Save Cayman and West Bay Action Committee allies of deceit.

“Those people have told too many lies. I proved it,” he told iNews Cayman. “They told those who signed that I, me, personally, was selling Public Beach to Dart.

“They could be sued,” he said.

“There is a lot of misinformation,” Ms Coe said. “We have been accused of misleading people. They are attributing all these myths to us”.

Saying her group sought “honesty and transparency”, she expressed dismay at Mr Bush’s charges, saying organisers had analysed the signatures, identifying the problems.

“Only eight children, between the ages of 11 years and 15 years, signed, and put their age next to their names,” Ms Coe said. “They told us that they wanted to sign because ‘it’s our road too’, and they were going to grow up and maybe would not have that road anymore.”

No one had said Public Beach would be closed or sold, although the road may have been sometimes misnamed by those collecting signatures, she said, “but it remains that we’ll be losing direct access to our beach.”

“The governor told us his remit was to ensure good governance, but we were expecting he would review it using the authority given by the UK.

“We continue in the hope and expectation that Mr Bush and his representatives will stop and think. They were put there, with our votes, and regardless of whether he genuinely thinks that Cayman is getting the best part of this deal, he should at least take the time to review this and get some perspective,” Ms Coe said.

“At least let’s take the time and look at this. He [Mr Bush] is here to listen and to respect the wishes of his people, not just those of the developer,” she said.

Tonight’s meeting, she said, would be an effort to keep the public informed: “We are hoping for a good attendance, and not just from West Bay. We are not just a West Bay group, but an island group and we are hoping that all clear-thinking people will understand what we are talking about: Speak out and stand up for what you believe in.”