Fairmont Propose Reduced Development Plan

Saying the aim was to “address the feedback,” the owners of the Fairmont Southampton said they have “succeeded in reconfiguring the site plan to address the concerns,” and submitted a new application in which the maximum height of buildings was reduced from 6 storeys to 4 storeys, the number of proposed new units was reduced from 261 to 250, and the total build area has been reduced from 15.5 acres to 14.2 acres.

Extract from the Fairmont explanatory document showing the ‘new’ and ‘old’ submission 

This is according to a statement/ad from the company which said, “In April, Westend Properties submitted an SDO application for the redevelopment of the Fairmont Southampton property. As everyone knows, the feedback – both positive and negative – was extensive. Through this revised submission, we aim to address the feedback we received and provide more details about the proposed development.

“We took that feedback very seriously and have carefully considered the issues that Bermudians raised about the proposed plans for the redevelopment. The original application was to obtain approval in principle only – before advancing funds, investors need to know the extent of development that is possible, even if that full potential is never reached.

“The artistic sketches that the public has seen aren’t a true representation of what the buildings will look like, the views shown were specifically requested by the Department of Planning. However, we appreciate how important it is for the community to have a better sense of the proposed overall plan for the long- term development of the property. We also understand the concerns you voiced about related aspects of the proposal – from the building layouts, to the traffic, to the environmental impact.

“And so, Westend went back to the drawing board. We’ve succeeded in reconfiguring the site plan to address the concerns you’ve raised – including the size and scale of the buildings. With careful planning we managed to increase the number of tourism units without having a negative impact on our financing. This new plan is reflected in the amended SDO application Westend recently submitted to the Department of Planning.”

A letter included in the planning application noted, “The new proposals are based on a total build of 250 units. This is a small reduction from the original scheme but meets the project’s objectives in terms of volume of development to support the resort. The mix of the units has also been re-balanced in favour of tourism units. Whereas in the original scheme 56% of units were residential, in the revised scheme nearly two-thirds are proposed to be tourism units.”

“The tourism units provide a total of 441 bedrooms of which 276 will be hotel keys. This represents an increase of over 40% in the number of proposed hotel rooms as compared with the original scheme.”

The letter also adds, “It is now anticipated that the hotel renovation works will commence later this year with an expected hotel opening in Q2 2025.”

The relevant text from the Government’s official notice follows below:

Request to Make a Special Development Order

• Notice Type: Government Notice
• Notice Sub Type: Public Notification
• Notice ID: GN0643/2023
• Public Authorities / Department: Planning
• Publication date: 26 July 2023

The Department of Planning has received a revised proposal and additional/updated information in respect of a request for the Minister of Home Affairs to make a Special Development Order pursuant to section 15 of the Development and Planning Act 1974, as detailed below.

Application Reference: SDO0001-23

Name of Applicant: Westend Properties Ltd.

Location of Proposed Development: Fairmont Southampton, 101 South Road, Southampton

Description of Proposed Development [as amended]: Proposed Maximum 250 Unit Tourism/Residential Development Comprising up to 159 Tourism and 91 Residential Units Contained Within Buildings of 2 to 4 Storeys with Associated Access, including Realignment of South Road, Vehicle Parking and Modifications to Golf Course [In-Principle Approval Sought]

The submission is available for review on the Department of Planning’s Customer Self Service [CSS] Portal by clicking ‘Search Public Records’ and inputting the above application reference. Paper copies of the submission may be viewed between the hours of 8:45 am and 4:30 pm on weekdays at the Department of Planning, 5th Floor, Dame Lois Browne Evans Building, 58 Court Street, Hamilton HM 12. A direct link to the online file is provided here.

Any person wishing to comment on the submission must do so within 14 days of the date advertised. Details on how to submit comments can be found on the Department’s Commenting on Planning Applications Guidance Note. If you have already submitted comments, please submit any additional comments you may wish to make by logging into the CSS portal and selecting ‘My Work’ then ‘My Plans’ then selecting your representation reference, which will have the prefix ‘REP’.

Further information on this process can be found on the Department’s Procedures for the Making of Special Development Orders. All procedures and guidance notes are available on the Department’s website, planning.gov.bm.

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