The Grand Bahama Green Paper: what it means for a Freeport business

What was published, and what it leaves open

On 21 October 2026 the Government published a Green Paper proposing a successor to the Hawksbill Creek Agreement, in the form of a Grand Bahama Development Act, and opened gbframework.com for consultation. Prime Minister's remarks Executive summary

• What the Government says is decided: equal governance and regulation across the whole island; a successor framework in the form of a Development Act; Freeport stays the commercial, maritime and industrial centre; investment concessions considered island-wide; and the timetable below. Executive summary
• What is open for consultation: which body holds each public function, including business licensing; the Development Council's role and membership; which provisions of the Agreement change, and in what order; what the Act contains, including concessions; and how existing rights are protected during the transition. Executive summary

The dates

1 November 2026

Consultation opens; the site says responses can be made on gbframework.com from this date. How the consultation works

By 31 January 2027

Functional account: who is responsible today for licensing, planning, building control, environment, utilities and roads. Para 8.4

February 2027

'What We Heard', an interim summary of the first three months. How the consultation works

30 April 2027

Consultation closes; the paper asks for responses by then. How the consultation works

1 July 2027

White Paper and Consultation Report: the Government's decisions and reasons. Table 10.1

31 December 2027

Draft legislation complete. Table 10.1

First quarter of 2028

Passage of the legislation. Table 10.1

1 July 2028

2028/2029 fiscal year begins, in which the new framework is to be budgeted. The plan

These are the Government's published dates. Those after 30 April 2027 are targets that depend on Cabinet and Parliament. Para 10.3

Your licence

• Question 2 asks whether one licensing system should cover the island, who should run it, and how an applicant appeals. Q2 A right of appeal and a single approvals process with time limits are among the matters on which views are sought. Para 2.32
• Question 14 asks which existing licences, approvals, concessions and contracts need express protection during any change. Q14
• The Prime Minister told licensees that the rights they hold lawfully "will be identified, recorded and respected" Remarks, para 91 and that "nothing will be done retrospectively". Remarks, para 135

Our advice. Any register of lawful rights would have to be built from records. Keep your Port Authority licence, business licence, permits and approvals current, and keep the paperwork where you can find it the day someone asks. Our licence file checklist lists what to keep together.

Your records and your IT

The paper is specific about records and systems, because a function can only move if its records move with it.

• The paper says access controls, retention and lawful disclosure "would be addressed before systems are introduced", and that a correction would have to preserve the record of what occurred. Para 8.15
• For any transition, it proposes that the arrangement say which record is authoritative, and that a change of institution not be a reason to make an application start again. Para 6.28
• Its proposals for digital administration aim at information submitted once, errors corrected across every affected record, and continuity during loss of power or communications. Para 4.15
• Its continuity proposals cover critical loads, backup arrangements and restoration; Question 25 asks what would keep essential services running through a hurricane or other disruption. Para 4.24 Q25

Our advice. Whoever holds your licence file in future is likely to want the evidence an insurer or the Data Protection Act 2025 already asks for: a list of the systems you run, who can get into each one, how long records are kept, where the backup is and proof that it restores, and a plan for reaching customers, staff and the bank with power or internet down for a week. None of this needs new software. Our DPA 2025 guide covers the detail.

Tax and duty

• Port Area tax and duty are not what this consultation is about: the paper says rates, durations and exemptions will be considered only after consultation. Executive summary
• The time-limited exemptions run to 4 May 2036, a 20-year period from 4 May 2016. Award, para 111 Para 6.11 Our reading: nothing published so far changes a Freeport business's tax or duty position.

How to take part

• The site says responses open on 1 November 2026: you can answer any of the 25 questions, or comment on any proposal. You may attach material; if you give figures or make a technical point, say where they come from. How the consultation works How to respond
• The paper says public meetings will be held in Freeport, East Grand Bahama and West Grand Bahama, with sector sessions, dates and venues published before each meeting, and officials on hand to help anyone who needs assistance to respond online. How the consultation works
• The paper says every response will be read and considered on its substance, not on how many people make the same point. How the consultation works
• The site's question tool answers from the documents and cites the paragraph, with the site's own caution that AI can make mistakes and it is not legal advice; the poll is a quick sounding, not a formal response. gbframework.com How to respond

A conversation

If you would like to talk through what this means for your own licence file, records or systems, we are in Freeport and glad to have the conversation.