Plans to redevelop the 80-acre Fairmont Southampton property have been scaled back following a massive outcry two years ago over a proposal to build on part of its golf course.

The revised proposal, to be submitted to the Planning Department next month, allows for the construction of 130 villas, fractional units and townhouses, a new beach club and tennis facilities.

The hotel initially intended to shorten the hotel's venerable 18-hole golf course and redevelop the property to include a private residence club, new beach facility and a golf academy.

"The revised design plans reflect extensive changes to the original proposal to address the concerns of our neighbours and friends while still meeting the resort's need to diversify and enhance its tourism product offerings," said managing director of Fairmont Hotels & Resorts Bermuda Norman Mastalir.

"We have spent the last two years developing creative solutions to meet all the stakeholders' needs."

Incensed neighbours of the South Shore resort circulated a petition against the multi-million-dollar makeover last year, which gathered 600 signatures. A further 25 objection letters were sent to the Department of Planning.

In an interview with the Mid-Ocean News last May, Mr. Mastalir revealed he was considering reducing the extent of the redevelopment in response to that outcry.

At that time he said the objections had been taken "seriously" and expressed confidence that the public "would be happy" with the new design, created with input from protestors.

"We don't do public consultation just for the sake of doing it," he insisted. "We do it because we want to be good citizens of the community. We want to do the right thing for our neighbours.

"We've got a new plan that we're ready to submit to Planning and we think that people are going to be very happy with it. It takes away a lot of the things that people were not happy with and still allows us to move forward and redevelop our business in a way that will help it to be sustainable."

Proposed changes to the resort were announced at a neighbourhood meeting Monday night.

As explained by a spokesperson, the idea is "to transform the Southampton luxury hotel into a resort community in accordance with industry trends".

"The main hotel will remain unchanged," the spokesperson continued.

"In the development plan, which was revised to address community input, the existing par-three golf course and open space will be retained and enhanced. Residential and tourism development that had been planned for the golf course lands has been reduced.

"Concerns about increased assessment numbers and traffic congestion have been accommodated by a 59 per cent decrease in the number of proposed whole ownership units with assessment numbers, while parking will be incorporated throughout the development using traditional Bermuda architectural and aesthetically-pleasing landscape design."

Additional change will include 22 residential units available to Bermudians only. As well, tennis facilities planned for existing green space have been incorporated on top of a relocated water storage facility on Turtle Hill. The spokesperson described neighbourhood response as "cautiously optimistic".

Said Susan Roblin, one of the original objectors to the scheme: "The plans we've seen are a huge improvement over what we first saw two years ago. I still have concerns, but Fairmont has done the right thing by listening to its neighbours."