Representatives from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation have called for plans to build additional residential buildings at the St Regis Hotel to be reconsidered.
A report from a Unesco delegation, tabled in the House of Assembly yesterday, said that the Government had failed to exercise due diligence in preparing for the hotel and did not use enough care when considering the potential impacts of the project.
The mission considered the hotel and condominiums already constructed to have a negative impact on the World Heritage Site’s “outstanding universal value”.
It called for a project for five additional condominium buildings to be reviewed.
The group said that if the project could not be avoided, any decision on their location, scale and design needed to be accompanied by an impact assessment process to ensure it did not come with “a large negative impact on the OUV of the property”.
“The mission advises the Government of Bermuda to approve only those developments within the World Heritage property, its buffer zone and wider setting that are fully consistent with the sustainable development policies and fully compatible with the preservation of the OUV of the property.”
The report said halting further development would be “ideal”, but unlikely given that the next stages of development had already received in-principle approval.
However, careful siting of new buildings, reductions in their height and a more spread-out plan could reduce the negative visual impact.
The mission advised that if there was “no absolute need for leverage in the project from an economic point of view”, not all five buildings were to be constructed.
“The mission also wishes to highlight that as the St Regis Resort project includes components of the World Heritage property, and historic areas that are important to understand its OUV and attributes, the leaseholder of the developer should ensure the accessibility of the historic structures and locations, including Fort Victoria and Fort Albert if the necessary safety measures could be guaranteed, and also the historic beach of St Catherine.”
It said the leaseholder should be encouraged to maintain long-term access to the beach along with suitable parking, including for bicycles, and sanitary services.
The mission found the state of conservation of the Town of St George to be very good, stating that it retains a “remarkable degree of integrity and authenticity”.
The report added that while the mission did not visit all of the fortifications in the area, their conservation varied from good to poor.
It said the authenticity was “acceptable” for most, but found many in “complete neglect” without any specific group tasked with preserving them — leaving some in “urgent need of conservation and restoration”.
It said the property as a whole urgently needed “a responsible management body and a comprehensive management plan to guide its actions”.
“It also recommends that the Government of Bermuda develop both an Emergency and Risk Preparedness Plan and a Sustainable Tourism Plan for the property and integrate them into its World Heritage Management Plan.”
The Unesco delegation visited the island in April after being invited to provide input on the future of the World Heritage Site as part of an “advisory mission”.
Lieutenant-Colonel David Burch, the Minister of Public Works, said in the House of Assembly that over the past ten years a number of construction projects had been launched in St George’s to boost its economy, including St Regis.
“Unesco has noticed this change in philosophy for the island and has recently made their position known to the Government through several correspondences,” Colonel Burch said.
Colonel Burch called the report positive overall.
He noted that the Government had a “clear and well defined legal framework” for balancing development with cultural assets of national significance.
Colonel Burch acknowledged there were “some other matters we can and will improve on”, with Unesco suggesting 40 ways to bolster the World Heritage Site status.
Those recommendations were said to be under review.
He said non-governmental groups involved in the town’s strategic direction would be consulted and that many had already been given the report.
Owain Johnston-Barnes
The Royal Gazette