DeSilva: ‘Balance Between Sustainable And No’
Following concerns expressed by BEST about a planned development at the Fairmont Southampton Hotel, PLP MP Zane DeSilva said we “must create a balance between sustainable development and no development.”
The hotel was granted a Special Development Order [SDO] in 2009 to build 130 residential units, with 71 fractional units for tourists and 37 residential villas to to available to sell to non-Bermudians.
They recently applied for planning permission for the first stage, which listed a “Proposed (3) Three Bedroom Residential Villas. Phase 1 of Fairmont Southampton Resort Master Plan – Special Development Order 2009.”
PLP MP Zane DeSilva said, “The efforts by BEST to disrupt proposed development by Fairmont Southampton at the Turtle Hill property should deeply concern Bermudians of all walks of life.
“This proposed development represents an opportunity to create new businesses, work for local construction companies and jobs, both short and long term for Bermudians.
“While we must remain vigilant that open spaces and Bermuda’s natural beauty are preserved we must create a balance between sustainable development and no development.”
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Articles that link to this one:
- BEST’s Stuart Hayward Responds To MP DeSilva | Bernews.com | December 23, 2013
Here we go, another PLP has been talking about “concern”…..
Yup. He’s concerned about his pockets!
I agree 100 percent as long as he was getting fed all the contracts everything was ok go lie down looser
So says Mr Give me half a chance & I will fill in Devonshire Marsh.
Give us a break!
zaney talking out his donkey again!
Who was the Minister when this SDO went through?
I believe the Minister was Glen Blakeney.
THANK YOU.
Mr Desilva is completely right. BEST seems to not want anything developed. There has to be balance. Anytime a hotel wants to do something there is a fuss over it, yet we say we want investment and we say we want jobs.
if Fairmont wants to develop their property what is the big fuss did anyone make a fuss when they built the hotel people like best are dam crazy in order for development some trees must go
here is a company that want to create jobs and a bunch of fools like best is trying to stop it just stupid stupid
These are the same people who gave us Grand Atlantic.
How did the development SDO for Tucker’s Point work out. From what I hear, they are hanging on by a thread. Hotels should not be in the business of real estate speculation, especially on an island as small as Bermuda. Why not funnel some resources into these dated and boring hotel properties so people would actually be excited to stay there? When we look around in a few years and it is all concrete…it will be too late!
Me thinks Zane’s only motive here is the excavation work his company will probably do on the site!! Zane is as clear as glass when it comes to making money!!!!!
I think right thinking Bermudians at last know what Zane is all about !!!!!! he could care less about you Bermudians… he only cares about himself !!!!!!!and remember what he said a few years ago ? This guy has a ego problem.
Without Fairmont,we might as well completely shut down – it is not just tourism and convention business they sustain, but their infrastructure of rooms and services are critical to IB every bit as much. If they want to put up 170 units on THEIR property, I applaud them! And if Zane gets the job, maybe he will shut up for a while. And as for their Casino(s), the sooner the better. Time to stop bickering and get serious about making some money in this place, especially now that the Godfather no longer can interfere.
Totally agree with what you said but just remember Zane always has $$$ motives, nothing else matters!!!
I think it is time to consider just paving over the whole island and then leveling all the existing buildings and putting up one huge hotel/bank/insurance/hedge fund/casino/parking complex. Then anyone left can just gawk in amazement at the majesty of this thing they have made. There are WAY too many trees and flowers here for it to be a proper business center.
Go away PLP,you have done enough damage.
has BEST made any comments on the hawkins island project??????
He is only interested in putting more money in the bank and couldn’t care less about the eyesore the property would become if they allow all that development!
Desilva, I am deeply concerned how you persist in the short term outlook that was the hallmark of your government and has nearly brought Bermuda to financial ruin. There are many reasons why these developments should not go ahead. In short:
- a foreign owned hotel is building on one of bermuda’s diminishing number of open spaces for its own financial gain, not bermuda’s.
- we have already built up enough alongside the former pristine south shore and ruined parts of it such as the Grand Atlantic development which is the biggest scar on the land. More development on our open spaces in the name of tourism is insane given the limited open spaces we have and the number of existing tourism zoned areas that are ready for redevelopment.
- building more townhouses will create more unwanted capacity in the local housing market keeping prices down and hurting those Bermudians who have already seen their property prices plummet.
But what galls me the most is your justifying all this by saying jobs need to be created in the construction industry. Leaving aside that as a main player in the industry you are sure to gain financially from this, the fact of the matter that the construction industry is bloated and unsustainable given the size of the island and limited land mass. It needs to shrink from the giant it has become in the business construction book of the 80s and 90s. We cannot keep building things just to keep people employed. It is a flawed model! There is no balance here. It is so easy to just say “let’s build” instead of looking at the bigger picture…please take the blinkers off your eyes!
Yes, this is balanced sustainable perspective. I thought government had a department that ‘s supposed to do that. It would be nice to know what they think about this SDO.
All you BEST supporters going to be crying when the hospital job is coming to an end! We’re is the 1500 or so workers going?? Stay tuned Bermuda
I agree with “Common Sense”
Come on you guys, stop quibbling.