The Bank of Bermuda/HSBC building is likely to be approved, according to an ousted Chairman of the Development Applications Board (DAB).

Robin Spencer-Arscott would have been a leading figure in deciding whether a controversial seven-storey bank development on Front Street would go ahead. But on December 30 he was told his one-year tenure as DAB chairman would end on December 31.

?There is a quid pro quo with that one,? Mr. Spencer-Arscott said on the bank plan. ?It is public knowledge that if Government purchased a building it might bode well for the Bank.?

It was reported in December that Government had been looking into buying several Bank of Bermuda properties which will become vacant should the bank?s Planning application be successful and could be put in a compromising position by operating against ?a backdrop of quid pro quo?.

It was also previously reported that a senior source at the Bank said Government planned to buy a number of the company?s subsidiary buildings and a senior member of Government later confirmed that ?exploratory discussions? about the deal had taken place.

But Mr. Spencer-Arscott said yesterday that he would support the controversial plan if it was modified further.

The Bank?s initial plan was modified in December in light of 23 objections, including the Corporation of Hamilton However, it remained seven-storeys tall ? even though the City of Hamilton Plan 2001 states a maximum of five storeys are permitted on Front Street and Reid Street.

?I did not object to it personally,? Mr. Spencer-Arscott said. ?But it is too high. It needs to be modified a bit.?

He said it would be similar in height on Front Street as a new A.S. Cooper?s building currently under construction.

?The Trimingham?s building was always quite high. The offices went up five storeys. But it will be set back and I think the walkway is a good idea,? he said.

The former DAB Chairman said Bermuda could not afford to stay still.

?If tourism was what it used to be, it would be a different story,? he said. ?But business is the thing nowadays and if it went we would all be in trouble. We have to do a little give and take here.?

However, at he same time he lamented the loss of Bermuda?s open and green space outside of the City.

?I look across the harbour now and there is only houses there now,? he said. ?I just hope people respect arable, open land. Luckily we have a lot of golf courses.?

But the biggest change to the Planning process he had seen in his 11 years on the Board had been the number of applicants who flouted Planning regulations.

?Agents of the applicants go ahead and do things and say that was not what was approved but we will get away with it on appeal,? he said. ?It?s sad.

?The number of cases appealed have reduced. We are getting support for the Ministry,? he said.

The former Chairman said retroactive Planning approval should be discarded.

?When people flout the rules the building should be taken down. We have not done that yet with any major building. Then people will learn.?

He said Planning enforcement needed to be stronger but there was just not enough manpower.

DAB Deputy Chairman MacArthur Furbert has stepped up as Chairman.

?They told me about it on December 30. That was not very professional,? he said.

A letter informing him of Environment Minister Neletha Butterfield?s decision was dated January 3 as he had only just been received it on Wednesday, he said.

?It was not a very happy situation,? he said.

Even if the DAB refuse the Bank of Bermuda/HSBC plan it could be overturned on appeal to the Minister.

Speaking on the Minister?s right to appeal, Mr. Spencer-Arscott said it was not a power that should be used ?willy-nilly?.

?If she overturns decisions of the Board it needs to be done for the right reason. You don?t do it willy-nilly,? he said. ?And if the Planning Statement needs to be changed because it is outdated it should be deliberated.?

Despite the unhappy departure, the former Chairman was jovial about his future.

?Now after 11 years I will have my Wednesday mornings free,? he said.

Permanent Secretary of the Environment Wayne Carey said Minister Butterfield felt it was time to give someone else the opportunity to serve as Chairman and her decision did not reflect on Mr. Spencer-Arscott?s service.