The One Bermuda Alliance has urged the Government to allow a proposed seniors residential facility to move forward after the project was refused planning approval.

While plans to convert Channel House into a care facility were turned down by the Development Applications Board in a split decision, Linda Smith, the Shadow Minister of Youth, Social Development and Seniors, urged the plan be approved on appeal.

“The urgent need for senior care facilities is at a crisis point, which is a major contributor to the lack of available beds at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, as patients medically fit to leave have nowhere to go,” Ms Smith said.

“We also know that there are often long wait lists for spaces at the island’s care homes.

“We desperately need appropriate facilities for our seniors.”

Diallo Rabain, the Minister of the Cabinet Office and Digital Information, said that the Government fully understood the need for quality senior care on the island.

“To that end, the application for this project was submitted on March 5, 2025,” he said. “Immediately upon receipt, and due to the project's importance, the Department of Planning expedited the application to obtain a DAB decision, which was made on April 2, 2025.

“Once the applicant submits an application for appeal, I will prioritise my review of the submission to make a swift determination in accordance with the Appeal Procedure Rules.

“I have every intention of seeing this project move forward without unnecessary delay.”

Mr Rabain said the situation highlighted a broader issue of the rigidity of planning policies.

“When applications with clear benefits, no detrimental planning impacts and social value, like housing for our seniors, are supported by the Department of Planning but blocked by technical policy constraints, it becomes clear that change is needed,” he said.

“Pending the wider review of the 2018 Plan, legislative amendments will be advanced to ensure that developments in the public interest don't become hostage to procedural red tape in the future.

“These changes will allow the planning system to respond more effectively and pragmatically without sacrificing accountability or standards.

“While others are quick to comment, we are focused on delivering tangible outcomes, both for this project and for the future of planning in Bermuda.”

The recently submitted planning application proposed converting Channel House, on Longfield Road in Southside, into a residential facility for seniors, which would be capable of housing up to 57 people.

While planning officers agreed there was a need for residential care facilities, a report found that the proposal went against a policy of the Bermuda Plan 2018, which required commercial uses for the ground floor unless there was no reasonable option.

Channel House was built by the US Navy in 1942 as a military security building and renovated in 1990 and 1999. It later housed the Government’s Information and Digital Technologies Department.

In November 2023, the Government announced that it would work with developers to turn the building into a residential care facility.

Plans submitted for the site this year proposed extensive interior renovations of the property with the addition of a single-floor extension to create a 45-bedroom facility.