A spike in retroactive planning fees could “further stifle” construction at a time when the sector cannot afford it, according to industry members.The Construction Association of Bermuda criticised the 900 percent increase in retroactive planning permission fees and 200 percent rise in the fees for retroactive building permits, which came into effect on April 1.The steeper charges will hit those who fail to get final planning approval and a permit before starting building work, as well as those who carry out revisions once building has begun without amending their original approved plan.A Ministry of Environment spokeswoman said the increased fees were intended to “serve as a deterrent to the unauthorised commencement of development”.But Charles Dunstan, president of the Construction Association of Bermuda, said: “The construction industry has concerns that these new punitive measures will ensnare a lot of legitimate revisions that are part of the normal process.“Minimising the number of changes presented to [the Department of] Planning will certainly help to hasten the planning process, moving projects from conception to reality in an expedited fashion.“However, construction projects already carry a tangible burden of risk for any developer, large or small. Seldom do these developers foresee every little detail, resulting in changes once building is under way.“The increased risk associated with these expanded punitive measures may give a developer cause to rethink his exposure and find that his incentive to proceed with his plans has been reduced.”Mr Dunstan added: “From the construction industry perspective, any such perceived impediments to development will only serve to further stifle the market, at a time when we can ill afford it. We need stimulation of developers’ interest in investment.”The new fees mean that for the biggest developments, with a floor area larger than 1,000 sq ft, the amount payable to Government for retroactive permission and a permit is now $32,950, where it was $5,150.For the smallest plots, those under 200 sq ft, the amount has risen from $1,236 to $8,034.Jennifer Gray, executive director of the Bermuda National Trust, said it “very much” welcomed the rise and had “long called for the Department of Planning and the Ministry of Environment to be empowered to apply suitable deterrents for planning infractions”.“The lack of effective enforcement and or penalties for unpermitted development can actually encourage and lead to illegal development,” she said.“We appreciate that mistakes are made. However, the high cost of construction, alongside the lack of ability to effectively penalise infractions of our planning legislation and policies, has meant that in certain cases, it actually made it tempting financially to ignore planning requirements.“The incentive of considerable financial benefit has worked against the strength of planning regulations in place.”Ms Gray said some retroactive developments had resulted in the destruction of protected areas such as woodland and farm land in a “seemingly deliberate way to nullify restrictive protective zonings”.“It is fundamental that application fees for retroactive developments exceed the net financial gain from those infractions. It is also essential that, where infractions lead to the demise of protected areas, retroactive permission is not granted and a remediation plan and penalty be enforced.”Stuart Hayward, from Bermuda Environmental and Sustainability Taskforce, said his organisation warned in 2010 that retroactive applications for illegal or unpermitted developments were becoming “pervasive”.He added: “Boosting the fees may be a deterrent but may well not be. Boosting the fees may result only in an advantage for those who can afford the new fees; they will get their approval, those with limited funds will not.“That is not an equitable application. The legislation needs to be changed to weed out ‘applications of ‘retro-convenience’.”Former planning director Erwin Adderley said the increased fees were contrary to the spirit of the Development and Planning Act 1974 and unduly harsh.He said those unsuccessful in getting a retroactive application approved had to remove the development, which was punishment enough.“That’s a pretty punitive way of looking at it,” he said. “People sometimes do something that they thought didn’t need planning permission.”The Ministry spokeswoman said: “The Department is aggressively pursuing several enforcement cases with a view to either prosecution or demolition of the offending works.“The current fee regime provides for additional building and planning application fees in cases where development commences without the required approvals.“The additional fee is intended to serve as a penalty for the commencement of works without the required permissions, particularly in those instances where there has been a blatant disregard of the regulations.”She said Planning had taken “considerable steps” to improve the efficiency of the planning and building permit applications process.l Useful website: www.planning.gov.bm.