Hamilton Parish residents filled the Francis Patton School hall last night to voice their concerns about plans for Shelly Bay.

Developer Tim Steinhoff has proposed installing a new parking lot adjacent to the area’s playground to service customers at a planned restaurant at the current concessions site.

However, Progressive Labour Party MP Wayne Furbert has said the parking lot’s proximity to the playground would make it a safety risk, saying he would fight it in the House of Assembly and seek an injunction if necessary.

The plans have yet to be considered by the Development Applications Board, and members of the public can file objections to the Department of Planning this week.

Last night around 200 people attended a town-hall meeting on the topic, raising a host of concerns about the project.

During the meeting the crowd heard that environmental groups are planning objections to the proposal and have requested copies of a petition to protest the project.

PLP MP Derrick Burgess said that he had met with the developer and Craig Cannonier, the Minister of Public Works, about the project. At that time, he said the developer wanted to place even more parking in the area near the playground and that he had raised concerns. The next he heard of the plans, they had been submitted to planning.

“The plans have parking for 16 cars and 18 bikes,” he said. “That’s a lot of land. When you have sight of the land, that’s basically all of the green space to the east of the play area.

“If they come down here with bulldozers, we will lay down. We are not going to have this in Hamilton Parish.”

While he said he has no problem with Mr Steinhoff operating the clubhouse or opening a restaurant, there were other solutions to the issue of parking.

Mr Burgess also expressed some concern about the use of the beach by the facility, which would also reportedly include tables on the beach itself.

“They will want to rope it off for the patrons, and I understand that, but the beach is not big enough to do that,” he said.

Mr Furbert, meanwhile, questioned the need for a parking lot in the area, saying that the existing parking lot could be used, even if it had to be slightly expanded.

“At Rustico people park at the Aquarium and walk because of the quality,” he said. “If the food is good enough, people won’t have a problem.

“[Mr Steinhoff] says to us he’s doing it for Hamilton Parish, but Hamilton Parish doesn’t want it, so why are we going to allow it.”

Cheryl-Ann Griffin, an area resident, said that in addition to the loss of land often used for picnics and gatherings, the proposal would negatively impact the environment and cause a potential safety hazard for children. While the developers have said a fence would be erected to separate the parking area from the playground, Ms Griffin said that children would inevitably climb the fence while playing.

While she said that some have argued that customers would not want to walk from the existing parking lot to the restaurant at night, she said as part of the plan lighting is going to be installed and that customers have to walk a distance to access many of the Island’s more popular restaurants, particularly those overlooking the beach.

She also argued that the existing parking would be sufficient to handle the restaurant, saying issues would likely only arise on a few Saturdays in the summer when the nearby field is used for sports.

Other residents also voiced concerns about the project, questioning how the increased waste from the restaurant would be handled without impacting neighbours or those using the beach and about the noise. Worries were also expressed about the use of public land for the project, with one attendee expressing concern that further areas of the park would be lost to the public over time.

Meanwhile, one resident argued against allowing kayaking at the beach, saying it would be a matter of time before a child is injured.