Power firm Belco has applied for permission to lay underwater cables in Castle Harbour.

A planning application showed cables stretching from Coney Island Road, near the Coney Island Bridge and Bailey’s Bay Cricket Club field, to Stone Crusher Corner, near the airport.

The 1,300m cables would be laid on the seabed near the southern edge of Coney Island before crossing the water to St David’s Island.

The application said the proposal was part of transmission upgrade work approved by the Regulatory Authority.

The planning documents added: “The new cables are identified as critical infrastructure and will replace existing cables that have reached the end of their useful service lifetime.

“The proposed cables will link newly laid transmission cables between Belco’s Flatts substation and the recently constructed Bermuda air terminal substation.

“Submarine cables include four 22kV cable installation, one 4kV cable and three fibre-optic cables for protection and remote monitoring of the Belco grid.”

The application said the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences carried out several surveys of the cable’s proposed route last October and found no “sensitive or otherwise important” marine habitats that would be affected.

It added: “The sea floor along the proposed cable route comprises either mud or sand, liberally sprinkled with algae.

“While no sensitive habitat was identified during the survey – such as coral or seagrass – the BIOS team did stumble upon a sunken vessel in the waters near the Bailey’s Bay Cricket Club.”