Diallo Rabain, the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Digital Innovation approved an appeal following the DAB’s initial rejection
The former Channel House site has been given the green light to be redeveloped into a seniors’ residential facility.
It follows the development applications board’s initial rejection of the developer’s proposal, that did not include plans for commercial activity set up on the building’s ground floor.
The Development Applications Board, which approves all planning applications and building permits on the island, has been overruled by Minister Diallo Rabain concerning Channel House.
The Minister for the Cabinet Office and Digital Innovation approved the developer’s proposal for the former Channel House site on Longfield Road at Southside.
Via a media release, Minister Rabain cited the need for senior’s residential facilities as “crucial.”
The DAB had initially refused the project under the Bermuda Plan 2018 which requires ground-floor commercial activity for all developments in Mixed-Use zones, such as where the former Channel House is located at Southside.
Minister Rabain stressed that this policy limited the project, despite its clear public value.
According to planning documents, the three-story building is meant to undergo interior renovation to build 45 bedrooms fitted to house 57 seniors.
