Rosewood Tucker’s Point has put forward plans to erect two new five-storey hotel buildings on the edge of its Hamilton Parish property.

Each of the proposed buildings, to be built on the northeastern corner of the property, would include four hotel residence units and overlook Castle Harbour.

The application, submitted by Adwick Planning, said the buildings would replace units previously planned but never built at the location.

“Since the most recent planning permission was granted, it has become apparent that the approved units do not have the marketability that had been anticipated and that an alternative form of development would be more appropriate in this location,” the application stated.

“The revised proposal envisages two residential buildings each containing four apartments.

“Each of the proposed apartments would also have the potential for providing an additional key for hotel accommodation, thus contributing to and supporting the resort.”

The application argued that the proposal was in “general compliance” with previous approvals, including the Tucker’s Point Special Development Order, which also proposed two buildings at the location.

“The proposal, in fact, reduces the number of buildings on the site from the three approved in 2020,” the application said.

“Also, a total of only eight units are proposed whereas it has been acknowledged previously by the department that the site has potential for nine additional units.”

The application also argued that the structures would have a “negligible” visual impact when viewed from the Causeway or airport, which it described as the principle public viewpoint of the site.

“Apart from being distant views, the buildings seen from these vantage points will be set against the mass of development of the hotel and its associated residential development and the backdrop of Quarry Hill,” the application stated.

“These two buildings, therefore, which will complete the Harbour Court North development, will be unlikely to have any visual prominence or detract from views of the hotel waterfront in Castle Harbour.”

However, the plans have already come under a backlash from neighbours who expressed concerns about the impact of the development on them and urged the developer to revert to previously approved plans to build family homes on the site.

One Harbour Drive resident said the proposal would cost him a significant degree of privacy given its proximity to his home.

“All current residences face the water, allowing privacy between residences, and this new plan would have these additional imposing buildings facing east and overlooking our property, which is unacceptable and fundamentally different from all current residencies and all previous plans,” he said.

“In short, this plan creates a loss of privacy. The original plan proposed three single family homes which was in keeping with the existing properties and we all approved without reservations.

“The new planning application would combine commercial hotel units with residences within a clear residential section of the overall Tucker Point Estate Plan.”

The objector also raised concerns about the impact the new development would have on traffic flow in the area, and that the designs did not appear to consider the needs of persons with disabilities.

He added: “The overall plan has given no thought or consideration to Bermuda Plan 2018, the original planning or to any of the material planning considerations with its one and only focus of maximising profits regardless of the impact to existing owners, coastal conservation or people with disabilities.

“There are previous plans which used the land for residences in compliance with the material planning considerations which would address these material breaches and could be supported by all current residents, and we request that the current aggressive plans are not approved and at a minimum adjusted to address these material planning challenges.”

Another Harbour Drive resident raised similar concerns, stating: “We purchased our home here because the estate was intended to be single family residential, low noise, low traffic with a beautiful coral reef view from the home and from the water view.

“All our neighbours — now numbering seven on the estate — had the opportunity to put their homes into the hotel rental pool. None did, ensuring the residential nature of the estate going forward.”

They said the previous proposal to build singe family homes on the site had been approved with the support of neighbours, but the developer now sought to change its plans to make them “more profitable”.

“It accomplishes this to the detriment of the existing homeowners,” the objector added.

Another objector wrote: “The proposed Gencom development site is a complete overdevelopment of the site and was not envisaged when we bought our property where the developer extolled the virtue of three single family homes on this site.

“It is going to be a blight on the landscape where we essentially have single family homes and then two proposed huge new buildings and will definitely not be in keeping with the Bermuda Plan 2018, which refers to limited development, and, worse still, is being built in a coastal reserve and water resource protection area.”