Former Premier and businessman Sir John Swan and architects Linberg & Simmons have launched what appears to be a new push to promote a revamp the waterfront.

The group have published a booklet outlining the current problems along Front Street and suggesting solutions to make Hamilton more appealing.

A copy obtained by The Royal Gazette names Sir John and Linberg & Simmons as the authors of "On the Waterfront".

The architectural firm were the winners of Sir John's On the Waterfront exhibition, which sponsored plans for redesigning Hamilton's harbour.

The Royal Gazette understands that the booklet is being circulated throughout Government and to Corporation of Hamilton officials. This time, however, Sir John's group has not limited its vision to the waterfront. The plan takes in the entire City of Hamilton including the City Hall and Par-la-Ville parking lots as well as his previously reported plans for moving the cargo docks to Government land on the North Shore. Yesterday afternoon, Tourism and Transport Minister Ewart Brown described the publication as "interesting".

"I'm just happy that people are excited about [the redevelopment of the waterfront enough to on their own accord go ahead and propose various versions of the waterfront that they would like to see. That is good. That means there is some public interest."

Sir John declined comment on the publication, but in the booklet's forward he wrote: "From Easter lilies to reinsurance, our strength lies in our capacity to recognise changing circumstances and capitalise on them. This has always been the Bermudian ethos and, as we look to the future, we cannot turn our backs on the very thing that has made us who we are. If we are to continue, what has indeed been the Bermuda miracle, we must embrace change with vision and make change our friend. Let us not be encumbered by the shackles of ideology, bureaucracy and prejudice."

The redevelopment of the waterfront proper, Sir John says, is predicated on the need to create additional parking elsewhere in the city and relocating the container docks. Whereas currently "all of the waterside of Front Street is used for either parking or Customs", the authors suggest an alternative is to a redesign the car park next to City Hall as "Hamilton's outdoor living room" with underground multi-storey parking.

Sir John's group wants to replace the current parking lot with a town square "shaded by trees and a pergola covered with translucent, photovoltaic glass roofing panels, which will create enough electricity to run the mechanical systems of the fountain" to create "a spectacular oasis in the centre of the busy commercial district".

The reflecting pool and fountain would be the size of the current parking lot and is similar in design to those seen in many other major cities.

Beneath it, the group proposes to build a three-level underground parking garage that would provide 480 spaces.

Sir John's group also takes aim at the Hamilton Hotel site.

They would like to see a new cultural centre and business hotel at the Par-la-Ville car park site with two levels of underground parking connecting directly into Hamilton's central shopping area. Their design for a modern hotel above the car park includes a rooftop restaurant as well as a sizeable amphitheatre which borders the park. The booklet also looks at Sir John's previously publicised plans to solve the congestion problem on the container docks and open up seven acres of prime Front Street land.

Minister of Tourism Ewart Brown said at the beginning of this month that the docks will need to be moved. There are a handful of possible places where they could be relocated, however, Sir John's group sees Ducking Stool Park at Black Watch Pass as the preferred location because it is Government owned land and provides "good nautical accessibility with close proximity to the south shipping channel".

His group says that the location offers 14 possible acres of space for the docks and storage and as well the shortest possible road connections to Mills Creek Industrial estate and North Hamilton.

They say the new port could be buffered from Government House and the surrounding residential areas by a public park connecting - via a widened Black Watch Pass - to Bernard Park. They cite Zeebrugge, the seaport of Bruges, as an example.

A poll published in The Royal Gazette last month showed that six out of ten people back the idea of moving the docks out of Hamilton.

The Total Marketing poll of 401 Bermuda residents, found that a majority, 28 percent, favoured Morgan's Point as the new location with only eight percent backing Sir John's proposed location, however.

But Sir John said that the westerly locations are not as practical Ducking Stool because of the distance trucks would have to travel to move containers to and from town.

With parking problems and cargo docks dealt with, the booklet moves onto the group's plan for Front Street.

The proposed plans are similar to those Linberg & Simmons entered in the Waterfront contest. The group notes that the new generation of cruise ships averages 950 feet long and ten storeys high. They say that these cannot be accommodated by the current docks which already cause the city's harbour views to be obstructed when current cruise ships - which are only 650 feet long and up to seven storeys high - are in port. The group proposes creating a "turning circle to accommodate the 950 foot cruise ships".

The proposed pier would jut out into the harbour and is based on a study commissioned a few years ago by the Department of Marine and Ports.

Their other plans include a pedestrian promenade stretching from Albuoy's Point Park to a future King Street Park at the east end of the waterfront. They also suggest the development of a covered market, harbourfront cafes, a pay-and-display marina, an international yachting marina and an events conference facility. More controversially, the plans also call for as a casino.

Whether any action will result from the proposals in the booklet is questionable.

While the redevelopment of the waterfront is one of the former Premier's favourite topics any decisions would be up to the Government of the day.

Sir John did, however, recently accompany Dr. Brown on a tour of Genoa, Villefranche, Nice and Monaco to ascertain how other towns had dealt with their ports.

Yesterday, when asked what role Sir John had in the initiative, Dr. Brown said: "Sir John is a former premier and in our ministry we have due deference to any former premier but beyond that he has demonstrated an interest and so therefore we recognise that. There are not too many people who have come forward and demonstrated that they have some interest in pursuing this and so we are happy to see that he is a player. We consider him a player."

Dr. Brown did not have any update on the waterfront redevelopment yesterday.

He previously announced that an investment of $600 million would be needed to move the cargo docks out of Hamilton and transform the waterfront into a marina comparable to Europe's most magnificent ports. His ministry is currently putting together the formal structure of the waterfront task force and will not make any further announcement until cabinet has decided on its composition and terms of reference.

As for the actual plan to move the docks, Dr. Brown says Hamilton is but one of three ports receiving attention.

"As far as Dockyard, WEDCO has determined what it wants to see at Dockyard. In St. George we are waiting for the engineering research to tell us just what is the feasible thing to do about town cut and then we'll decide on Hamilton and then we'll decide on the schedule of work. First the scope of work and then therefore the cost and then the determination of how it is going to be financed and the hopefully we'll be able to proceed."