An environmental charity is calling on members of the public opposing the proposed development of the Fairmont Southampton to take to the Cabinet Building on Friday and make their views known.

In an opinion piece in today’s edition of The Royal Gazette, Kim Smith, the executive director of the Bermuda Environmental Sustainability Taskforce, invited all who agree that the development should be carried out in a “sustainable, intelligent way that respects balance and preserves Bermuda’s character” to join the charity at about 10am, adding that “more details will be made public as soon as all permissions have been secured”.

Meanwhile, a petition launched in opposition to the plans had attracted 3,700 signatures by 7pm last night and 21 objections have been posted on the Department of Planning’s website.

Westend Properties, an affiliate of the Miami-based investment firm Gencom, last month revealed to residents its plans to add a total of 261 units with some six-storey buildings to the resort in a phased construction project expected to last up to 20 years.

Ms Smith wrote in the article: “People come to Bermuda to see our natural beauty, not concrete buildings. And who will want to stay in the hotel while the residential units are being constructed over a period of 20 years?”

Ms Smith questioned whether the proposed development would provide a meaningful number of additional jobs, adding: “It has been well documented that existing hotels and restaurants are struggling to find employees — Bermudian and otherwise — and I think it stands to reason that residential condominium properties require considerably less staff than a hotel.”

All of the submissions to the Department of Planning oppose the development, with the majority outlining environmental concerns.

One objector said he “vehemently” opposed the plans owing to “the severe negative impact on the environment in general, and the continued reduction to this island’s available nature, green spaces and habitat for wildlife”.

The objector said there appeared to be “severe economic imbalances, relative to the environmental impact”.

Another wrote: “The loss of valuable habitat for native flora and fauna is incomprehensible. We do not have the capacity on the island to support more and more properties, and multi-tenant properties in terms of both fresh water and sewerage.”

A concerned citizen and avid golfer said that as well as the environmental impact being “devastating”, the construction of so may buildings would result in “the destruction of a significant portion of the golf course, which is an important habitat for various species of wildlife”.

Another said: “The construction of the proposed hilltop villas and South Road townhouses, which extend significantly into the recreational zone, will undoubtedly have a negative impact on the local ecosystem.“

Some said increased road traffic in the area was also of concern.

One proposed reducing the scale of the proposed development and finding alternative locations for parts of it.

One objector said the development in its current form created unfair competition for vacation rentals in the face of a new annual tax for the sector coupled with the concessions given to the developer Gencom.

An SDO granted in 2009 gave planning permission in principle for 71 fractional tourism properties, 37 residential villas and 22 town homes.

Plans seen recently by area residents indicated that the developers hoped to add 114 tourism units, each with two to four bedrooms, at the site, as well as the 147 residential units.

Referencing figures credited to the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, Westend Properties said the economic benefits of the SDO could be $50 million annually.

This was said to include a GDP impact of $312.9 million, owing to construction of the units, an annual impact, owing to the units, on GDP of $7.9 million to $51.8 million and an impact on GDP of $846 million over 20 years owing to the units.

It said $462.2 million, or 55 per cent, of the impact is expected to flow to local businesses and $383.8 million, or 45 per cent, would go to the hotel

In 2021, the Government made amendments to the law allowing the Minister of Home Affairs to approve or reject applications before they go to Parliament.

The Opposition said earlier this month that the plans to redevelop the resort should be debated in the House of Assembly and Senate before going to a vote.

The Bermuda Industrial Union came out in support of the plans, saying it will create hundreds of jobs.

Gencom has stated that artist’s impressions submitted by the company with its SDO application do not reflect the finalised design of the units and on Friday released aerial images that show the buildings with more design elements and surrounded by vegetation.

However those images have been criticised on social media for being misleading because they do not show roads to the properties or parking areas.