The owner of a fast-food restaurant chain has agreed to make changes to plans for a new venue after slamming the Government for stalling his project over “ludicrous” demands.

David Furbert, the owner of Mr Chicken, said that he planned to reduce his parking area to fewer than ten spaces to prevent the need to establish an electric-vehicle charging port.

However, he stood his ground over his comments, adding that he still felt singled out.

Mr Furbert said: “My architect has information on the number of new places since 2018 that have been established that never, ever had any charging stations at all.”

“The fact that no one has ever been made to do this raises the question, why Mr Chicken?”

Mr Furbert planned to move his restaurant’s Southampton location from Heron Bay MarketPlace to the former Sousa’s Landscaping building across the road.

He voiced his frustration on Monday after the Department of Planning told him he could not move on with work until he included several additions to his plan, including a charging port for electric vehicles.

A spokesman for the Cabinet Office said that the requirement for a parking lot with more than ten spaces to have a charging port had been in place since 2018.

The spokesman added that Mr Furbert and his team had known about this since December 2 and had plenty of time to make changes or launch an appeal.

Mr Furbert said that he discovered his architect was “fully aware” of the legislation requiring a charging station.

He insisted that “he knows that no one has ever been asked to put one in”.

Mr Furbert said it was “irrelevant” that his architect knew about this for months because his application had already been approved in the past.

Vance Campbell, the Minister of the Cabinet Office, emphasised the Government’s concern for small and medium-sized business owners, calling them “the backbone of Bermuda’s economy”.

He added: “I recognise that the planning process can sometimes be frustrating, but public officers are required to act within the law.

“On three occasions, I spoke with Mr Furbert to address his concerns in an attempt to resolve the issues.

“Additionally, the director of planning has also had numerous discussions with Mr Furbert’s architect of record.

“As indicated in our comments yesterday, Mr Furbert was given the option to submit an appeal for my consideration, a process also set out in planning legislation.

“This and the other options available were clearly communicated to Mr Furbert’s architect, who was managing the application process.

“Mr Furbert has all of the information required to achieve a resolution to this matter and we remain more than willing to work with him.”

Mr Campbell said: “The Government is keen to ensure the success of all local businesses.

“In this case, these conditions were known to the applicant and his architect as early as December 2, 2023, when the DAB issued the decision.

“Had the information been acted upon at that time, this matter could have been addressed much sooner.

“We genuinely look forward to a resolution that is agreeable to all concerned.”