At one point last year developer Kierron Dolby found himself paying an environmentalist to collect 67 boa constrictors from his land - among them a 12ft specimen - and transport them to a similarly suitable habitat. The exercise was not for the protection of the people who will eventually own the £1m-plus homes planned for the site - boas are harmless to humans - but for the benefit of the snakes. It's the sort of extra cost you have to factor in when you want to build somewhere as sensitive as St Lucia.
In an effort to protect its natural heritage from overdevelopment, the Caribbean island's government now has an environmental section in its ministry of planning and nearly 30 laws setting out restrictions on new construction. But Dolby, whose company, DCG Properties, is building the £400m Le Paradis next to the sleepy village of Praslin on St Lucia's east coast, says he welcomes the safeguards.
