Plans to convert a warehouse into a grocery store have been shot down Government planners.

The application, submitted to the Development Applications Board in January, proposed alterations to warehouse on North Shore Road, Pembroke to create a 1,225 sq ft retail store.

The proposal said the site would be split between bays at the northern side of the building to serve an under-construction apartment unit, a garage parking bay for the remaining warehouse and parallel parking bays on North Shore Road for the store.

But the highways section of the Department of Works & Engineering raised several concerns about the project and recommended rejection.

A representative of the section told the Department of Planning in an e-mail that the proposal would likely be a “significant detriment to highway safety”.

The representative said the proposal would increase use of an access road without adequate improvements to visibility and that the access road was not wide enough to accommodate two-way traffic.

Concerns were also raised about the amount of space needed for drivers to turn around, which could lead to “significant reversing manoeuvres” on North Shore Road.

A report from a planning inspector said the application would be an over-intensification of the property and backed concerns about traffic and parking.

The inspector added: “Given the site’s location on one of Bermuda’s principal roadways, the potential for negative traffic impacts is probable.

“This has been confirmed by the highways section, who recommended the application not be supported.

“The negative traffic impacts will affect the surrounding residential neighbourhood, in addition to the users of the heavily trafficked public road.”

The inspector also raised concerns about the amount of parking on the property.

The Development Applications Board rejected the application at a hearing this week.