Plans to build additional units at a Warwick hotel property have met with objections from environmental groups.

Atlantic Hotel has applied to build a four-storey hotel building on the Nautilus property at 88 South Road, along with a new parking area, plunge pools and a pergola.

The new building would be erected immediately west of the original Nautilus structure and include four three-bedroom units.

The Bermuda Audubon Society and the Bermuda Environmental Sustainability Taskforce have filed objects to the proposal.

Janice Hetzel, of the BAS, wrote in one letter of objection that the charity was concerned about how the increased building density at the site would have an impact on the society’s Alfred Blackburn Smith Nature Reserve near by.

“We are particularly concerned about the piecemeal approach to this development and its associated development at Azura,” Ms Hetzel said.

“In total, the development at this site will result in the construction of a development that exceeds 20 units. This has involved significant excavation of the hillside and major damage to the cliff from the construction of road access to the beach level.”

She said that policies require an environmental impact assessment for developments with 20 or more units, but because the project is broken up into smaller pieces, it had essentially “bypassed” those requirements.

Ms Hetzel added: “The new building is four storeys tall and is sited on the top of the hillside. It will loom over Nautilus House to the east, Nautilus Building 1 to the south and the private residence at 3 Williamsholme Drive.

“It will also be highly visible from South Road and, given its size and massing, we believe it will have a significant negative impact on the visual amenity of the surrounding community.”

She added that the “very high-density” development also appeared to lack the bare minimum of open, community and amenity space required

“The lack of green and open spaces in the development not only impacts the residents but also the surrounding community,” Ms Hetzel added.

BEST also objected to the plans, stating that the proposal needed to be viewed in the wider context of the larger hotel project including both Nautilus and Azura.

“The massing, scale and design of the development certainly don’t seem to be sensitive and compatible with the Bermuda image, nor is there a harmonious mix of natural features,” the environmental charity said.

“The piecemeal approach to the extensive development of the Azura site and now with this Nautilus adjoining site being added to that expanse, it would probably have been a requirement that a comment be secured from the Advisory Architectural Panel.”

The charity also noted that the project was a tourism development in a residentially zoned area, which meant that the application required grounds in support and a letter from the Ministry of Tourism, neither of which were included in the application.

It also said it did not believe that the road to access the building would meet requirements for the safe movement of traffic and emergency vehicles.