Legal action is now under way over the lease and development agreement for the long-defunct 9 Beaches resort at the West End, which has been unused since 2010.

The Bermuda Land Development Corporation (BLDC) is taking developer IRC Sandys Ltd to court over the matter.

Hotelier David Dodwell is president of the company and a minority shareholder, holding less than 1 per cent of shares. The majority of shareholders are said to be citizens of the United States.

Mr Dodwell is president of The Reefs Hotel and chairman of the Bermuda Tourism Authority (BTA).

IRC Sandys, which has no connection to the BTA, has been previously reported as running into financial difficulties, including running into arrears on its rent to the government quango.

An $80 million renovation has been repeatedly delayed for the complex of waterside cabanas at Daniel’s Head in Sandys, some of which are showing signs of their age.

9 Beaches is still being maintained, however, with the resort’s website now saying that a $55 million upgrade is expected to have it open again in 2017.

IRC Sandys acquired the lease in 2004, picking up from Destination Villages, which in 1999 set about transforming the old Canadian Naval Base into an “eco-village” resort.

Asked if it was seeking merely to reclaim the lease or was also intent on getting back arrears, the BLDC said there would be no comment on the case before its conclusion. According to the Ministry of Public Works, the corporation’s board is acting in its capacity to pursue legal action, filed in a writ last month through the law firm Marshall Diel & Myers.

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