A plan to add more than 50 bedrooms to a long-running hotel has been recommended for approval by technical officers.

The planning application, submitted this year by Grotto Bay properties, proposed the erection of two new guest room buildings at the Hamilton Parish property.

The project would involve the removal of two tennis courts, a container storage yard, a sewage treatment facility and associated structures to make room for the new three-storey buildings, which would expand the hotel’s inventory with 53 new rooms.

It would also include works to improve vehicle and pedestrian travel on the resort property and landscaping work.

Objections to the plans were submitted by environmental groups, which said caves in the area needed to be protected, and they questioned what plans were in place for a new sewage treatment plant.

The applicant responded by updating its drawings to show the proposed location of the new sewage plant and said the Department of Environment and Natural Resources had been consulted on the subject of caves.

In a report prepared for the Development Applications Board, a technical officer recommended that the plans be approved under several conditions, including that work is halted if any caves are discovered.

The report said that the guest room buildings were designed to resemble the “Bermuda image” and their design would not have an adverse visual impact.

“Building 1 will be located on two of the existing tennis courts, which will provide a flat base requiring little to no excavation or fill,” the report said.

“This building will sit at a higher elevation compared to the surrounding southern and eastern regions and will be visible from Blue Hole Hill, directly to the south of the proposed block, especially the upper two storeys.

“While this does change the existing scenery of the area, it is deemed that the addition of the block will not have a negative impact due to the existing green buffer between the resort and the public road.”

The report writer added that the second building would be placed farther east in an “alcove” of tourism zoning surrounded by coastal and woodland reserve.

“Situated at a significantly lower elevation compared to the tennis court guest rooms, this building will require a notable amount of excavation and fill due to the sloped topography of the existing site,” the report said.

“The sloping grade to the east of the proposed block will be raised to meet the finished floor level.

“A series of retaining walls have been proposed along the hillside to assist with the support of the new building, which would not be excessive in height.”

The report said that to minimise the visual impact and ensure conservation gains, it was vital that the woodland reserve was appropriately planted.

The report writer noted that while a Conservation Management Plan was submitted, it was later discovered that a “significant amount of vegetation” had already been removed from the woodland reserve.

“The applicant has therefore since been advised that an application for retroactive planning permission inclusive of a CMP will be required to rectify this unlawful clearance,” the report said.

The report writer later added that while it was “unfortunate” that unauthorised clearing had taken place, the opportunity had arisen to replace invasive species with appropriate native and endemic species through a CMP.

It was noted that planning permission had been granted for other projects aimed to improve amenities at the resort, including expansions to the restaurant and measures to “renovate and replenish” the beach area.

While concerns were raised about caves on the site, which is in a Cave Protection Area, an existing cave had “appropriately been identified on the submitted drawings, which would not be affected by the proposed development”.

The plans were scheduled to go before the DAB this week.