Plans to further develop an exclusive holiday resort on Hawkins Island have been submitted to the Department of Planning more than ten years after they were first approved.

The proposed Hawkins Island Retreat would include four guest villas and four guest suites along with amenities, including a restaurant, observation decks, beach cabanas and a nature trail system.

The plans were originally submitted in December 2010 and granted in-principle approval in December 2011.

Planning documents said that after the plans were initially approved, one of the guest villas was completed along with some excavation and road works.

However, the original approvals have since lapsed, necessitating a reapplication for additional work to be carried out.

William Cox, whose family trust owns the island in the Great Sound, told The Royal Gazette when the plans were first approved that the project was intended to be built in three phases over several years.

Phase one of the project includes converting the existing guard house into a lodging for four visitors, the construction of two guest villas, each with two units, and a guest services and activity centre, along with cabanas and spa facilities.

Phase two would add four additional guest units and event catering facilities, while the final phase will turn the guard house into a check-in area and add additional guest suites, a restaurant and a swimming pool.

Earlier plans had also included tennis courts, but the courts were dropped after conservationists expressed concern that they would encroach on Bermuda Cedars.

While one resident of a nearby island submitted an objection to the proposal, expressing concern about noise, developers responded that because of the small size of the resort, the noise levels would be lower than that of party cruises that used to visit Hawkins Island.

The project had been compared by the developers to Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands, owned by celebrity billionaire Richard Branson, which serves as a luxurious private resort.