WE'VE been exploiting you, Mr Bond. A row has erupted over plans to build "a Barratt-style housing estate" a stone's throw from the Caribbean retreat where Ian Fleming penned his 007 novels.
Fleming's friends, fans and family fear the writer's idyllic Jamaican hideaway, Goldeneye, will be transformed into a "celebrity theme park" by the development which is due to begin this month.
"It's an act of vandalism," said Fleming's biographe
r John Pearson. "I'm appalled. It is a really sad, tacky thing to do. The whole idea would have had poor old Ian Fleming turning in his grave."
"It has remained remarkably unspoiled over time. It gives you an idea of the way Fleming worked. It was a place where he could relax and let his imagination run riot. A quarter of the world's population have seen a James Bond film and Goldeneye is the centre of the whole cult thing.
"Goldeneye is the only connection Ian had with Jamaica and it's an awful pity to lose it. The Jamaicans shouldn't let it be mucked up. It makes no sense other than the money it will generate for the developers."
The £50m development will see the creation of 80 luxury beach huts and villas on the doorstep of Goldeneye, where Fleming entertained glamorous guests such as Noel Coward, Errol Flynn and Katharine Hepburn.
The villa and the adjoining mile of coastline are owned by Island Records founder Chris Blackwell. Blackwell's company bought Goldeneye in 1977 after a deal with Bob Marley fell through when the singer decided the villa was "too posh" for his tastes. The development is being carried out by Blackwell's Island Outpost Group which owns a string of boutique hotels and exclusive resorts in the Caribbean.
Fleming's stepdaughter Ffion Morgan, whose mother Ann Rothermere married Fleming in the early 1950s, expressed concern that the project could spoil the idyllic retreat. "I would be very sad if the development disturbed the peace and seclusion of the place. It was mother and Ian's Eden. That was a phrase they used to describe Goldeneye. My mother's view was that it was paradise.
"I have a house full of letters from people who stayed at Goldeneye saying how lovely it was. Noel Coward was forever in and out of Goldeneye visiting Ian - they were great friends. Lucian Freud stayed too and did the most beautiful drawings and paintings of banana trees and palm trees."
Goldeneye nestles among private beaches, caves and tropical forest and is currently run as an exclusive hideaway hotel. Guests include supermodels Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell, Johnny Depp, Bono and Sting (who supposedly wrote his 1983 hit 'Every Breath You Take' there). Coward owned a villa nearby, Firefly, and he and Fleming often joked about which had the better location. Firefly is now run as a museum and open to the public.
Fleming fans would like to see Goldeneye operated in the same way. Ajay Chowdhury, spokesman for the 007 Fan Club in the UK, said: "In an ideal world, Goldeneye would be a museum and we could all visit. But it is private property so we have to be realistic."
Doug Redenius, president of the Ian Fleming Foundation in America, echoed these views. He added: "It would be great if the estate could be preserved in pristine condition and not muddled about with. With these kind of prices, the new villas are not going to be open to the common man, which is a great pity."
A night in Goldeneye costs £2,000. The 80 new beach houses are for sale from £320,000 to £1.3m. Roger Brown, director of development for Island Outpost Group, said 50% of the properties have already been reserved. "Goldeneye has been a celebrity magnet for many years and that will continue. Key to anything we do is the desire to preserve the Fleming estate," he said.
Joining the protest is best-selling thriller writer Philip Kerr, who has stayed at Goldeneye. He said: "It is very sad. It is going to look like a Barratt housing estate. Fleming created one of the greatest franchise characters of all time at Goldeneye. I can't see how they can possibly cram 80 villas in there. I certainly wouldn't want to stay there with all those people crammed in beside me, let alone pay £350,000 for it.
"At the moment Goldeneye is a piece of living history. You can actually sit at the desk where Fleming wrote all the James Bond books."
Local opinion is divided. Janet Silvera, a tourism expert for the Jamaica Gleaner daily newspaper, said: "The project is creating much-needed jobs and giving the local people renewed pride in their community."
Blackwell, who grew up in Jamaica, is the son of Blanche Blackwell, who reportedly had an affair with Fleming. When the first Bond film, Dr No, was being made in Jamaica, she put her son forward to be a location scout. Live And Let Die was also filmed in Jamaica and the island featured in several of the Bond novels.
Goldeneye's glamorous allure
Goldeneye is a 15-acre hideaway on a bluff between the sea and a lagoon and described as a "very sexy place to be".
Guests go in search of luxury, seclusion, romance and adventure with villas featuring outdoor garden baths and showers.
Songwriter Noel Coward and Hollywood stars Errol Flynn and Katharine Hepburn all stayed there, as did artist Lucian Freud, who produced drawings and paintings of banana trees and palm trees.
More recently, the global glitterati have beaten a path to its door including Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell, Johnny Depp, and Bono and Sting.
The late Bob Marley also graced Goldeneye but declared it too posh for his tastes.
Bond fans from around the world can stay in Fleming's three-bedroom house for upwards of £2,000 per night.
