Zane DeSilva, the government MP, has said that Walter Roban, the Minister of Home Affairs, did not do “a political favour for a mate“ by overruling planning objections to building on his land.

He spoke out after the One Bermuda Alliance attacked Mr Roban’s decision to allow construction by Mr DeSilva on his property near Devonshire Marsh. The OBA said that it echoed a controversy in 2011 that resulted in Mr Roban’s resignation.

Mr Roban hit back, saying that it was “incredible” that Scott Pearman, the Shadow Minister for Home Affairs, was “so eager to call for my resignation and question my integrity by comparing this to the 2011 matter”.

Mr DeSilva insisted that if anybody should have a “beef” with the minister over the issue, it should be he, not the objectors.

The MP’s company, Island Construction, was granted permission by the Development Applications Board last August to erect three two-storey maintenance and storage buildings near the company’s Middle Road headquarters in Devonshire. Five staff apartments were also included in the plan.

An appeal against the decision was launched by a coalition of environmental groups made up of the Bermuda National Trust, the Bermuda Audubon Society and the Bermuda Environmental Sustainability Taskforce.

Mr Roban’s decision in favour of the project was described as “shocking” by the Bermuda National Trust.

Mr DeSilva told The Royal Gazette: “I think if someone says that I am getting political favours, then they should look at the facts.

“The planning board approved the proposal after all due diligence.

“After that, if you object to their ruling, you have three weeks to do it in.

“The objections came seven weeks after. The minister didn’t say, ‘OK, this is my mate. Case closed’. He didn’t do that.

“He accepted the objections seven weeks after the deadline.

“In fact, if anyone should have a beef with the minister, it should be me because it went over the three-week limit.”

Mr DeSilva accused Mr Pearman of “political grandstanding” for alleging that the incident had echoes of a situation in 2011 when Mr Roban resigned from the Cabinet of the then Progressive Labour Party premier, Paula Cox.

At that time Mr Roban quit after 16 days as public works minister, saying that he deeply regretted bringing accusations of corruption upon the Government.

Mr Roban had come under intense criticism for granting planning permission to Mr DeSilva on his final day as environment minister, against the advice of his technical officers.

Mr Pearman said that more than 11 years later and despite “a strong no” from an independent planning inspector, Mr Roban had again decided to grant Mr DeSilva permission to build on the land at Devonshire Marsh.

Mr Roban said: “It is incredible that the shadow minister is so eager to call for my resignation and question my integrity by comparing this to the 2011 matter.

“It is apparent that the shadow minister and others care nothing about carrying out their due diligence to substantiate their allegations and read the file, which is publicly available.

“For example, the Development Applications Board approved the plan, and the Department of Planning, who saw the current application as an opportunity to improve and organise the site and enhance the buffer area between the existing industrial use and the adjoining nature reserve, also supported its approval.

“Also, despite the legislated time frame to submit an appeal, to ensure all persons or entities had the opportunity to have their say on the application, I approved the requests made for more time to submit an appeal by the objectors.

“While this decision disappointed the applicant, it was the right thing to do. Had the extension not been granted, an appeal would not have been accepted.

“Furthermore, unlike in 2011, this application involved both industrial and residential uses and all recommendations made by the Department of Planning and DENR during the application assessment were incorporated into the final design and relevant planning conditions.

“It is important to note that a 1991 court case ruled in favour of Island Construction for using the site based on ‘Grandfather Rights’ due to the duration that Island Construction had owned and operated the site and the nature of the activities that were undertaken throughout this period. Inspection of the site clearly shows that this is an industrial site and cannot be construed as an ‘open space’.”

Mr Roban also said that a request for comment on the matter from The Royal Gazette was sent at the “unrealistic” time of 10pm on Sunday.

The Government responded nearly 23 hours later.