BUSINESSES along Stanley Bay's picturesque seafront have condemned land reclamation plans published yesterday, calling them a ''potential disaster''.
Some said that the reclamation work currently in progress on the east side of the beach had already had a negative effect on business and the situation would deteriorate.
They feared that the plans announced yesterday to do similar work on a 1.7 hectare area on the west side of the beach could make things even worse.
''No one seems to know for sure exactly what is happening. There are real worries that there will be a drop in business,'' said Tim Boyes, assistant manager of Beaches bar, which overlooks the sea.
''We have a number of traffic jams now, and too few car parks as it is: if they increase the traffic along this main road, then it's a potential disaster,'' Mr Boyes said.
The Government plans to reclaim 4,000 square metres of land, on which it will reconstruct Murray House, as well as building a 190 metre sea wall and a public pier.
The reclamation work would start in mid-1994 and be completed in mid-1996, while contruction work on the pier would run from 1996 to late 1997.