“Hundreds” have objected to a proposal for a parking lot to be added at Shelly Bay park for a restaurant there.

A public meeting at 6.30pm today at Francis Patton Primary School has been called by Hamilton parish MPs Derrick Burgess and Wayne Furbert over the development for the Shelly Bay Beach House.

However the developer, Tom Steinhoff, said the petition being circulated was “misleading” and would hamper plans to have the restaurant open in time for the summer.

“We’re not allowing this to go ahead right next to the playground,” Mr Furbert said. “It’s huge, it’s right next to where the children play; we’re not having it, and we will fight it.”

Mr Furbert said he and Mr Burgess were prepared to bring the matter to Parliament or even to seek an injunction against it, saying they would “stop the bulldozers” if necessary.

He suggested an alternative site elsewhere in the park where an old access road is blocked off.

The petition speaks of the beach being converted into “Snorkel Park east”, accusing Mr Steinhoff of seeking to “privatise and commercialise” the beach and park, and restrict the public’s use of the area.

Mr Steinhoff said he was sympathetic when it came to any green spaces and regretted the need for a parking lot, which he was “trying to make as green as possible”.

“Our stance is that in order to go into any business that’s going to succeed there, we need to have adequate parking for patrons,” he said.

“I feel like the petition going around is misleading of the spirit of what we’re trying to do.”

Objections were liable to “hold things up so we won’t be open for the season, which holds up job creation and an amenity for Shelly Bay”, he said.

He said the parking area would be fenced off from the children’s area, and that there would be no stopping of use of the beach, or control over the park.

Responding in a statement today, One Bermuda Alliance Senator Lynne Woolridge said: “I’ve read stories in the media this morning about the Shelly Bay development plan, and am aware that it is the subject of much conversation on social media.

“What people seem to be missing is that there is a process by which people can object to a planning application. The closing date for objections for this application is not until Friday, January 29, so there is still plenty of time for people to go in to the planning office in Hamilton and register opposition to the plan.

“The planning system has been in place for many years, and has stood the test of time. It is one of the ways Bermuda’s government stays in step with the needs and desires of our democratic society. So I urge people not to waste time complaining about it: do something constructive!”

•To read the Shelly Bay Beach House petition and a response to the petition, click on the PDF links under “Related Media”