Developer Tom Steinhoff has cast doubt over whether his plans for a restaurant at Shelly Bay will go ahead, citing frustration at government red tape and “disenchantment” at the negative response from some residents.

The businessman has submitted a revised plan for the development, with a contentious parking lot removed from the drawings. But he told The Royal Gazette nothing was approved almost 18 months after he began discussing the proposal with officials from the Department of Parks and it was not clear if the final plan would result in a viable business proposition.

“People are so negative; it’s disenchanting, it’s disheartening, whatever term you want to use,” he said. “It’s an emotional thing. We have to see what Parks will approve and then reconsider the viability of this sort of spend.”

He said the whole community would lose out if the project was abandoned but insisted: “I want to do it. The problem is that the building is in such disrepair. The investment [needed] is tremendous. By the time you outfit it all it’s going to be close to a million dollars and I won’t own it. “

Mr Steinhoff, owner of Snorkel Park at Dockyard, has been given a lease by the Ministry of Public Works, following a tender process, to run a restaurant and beach concession in the derelict government building that stands within Shelly Bay national park.

He wants to create a 100-seat restaurant, ice-cream counter and rental shop for items like snorkels, paddleboards and kayaks and says nearby parking is needed to make the restaurant a year-round business.

Discussion over where to place a parking lot began in October 2014.

Mr Steinhoff, who lives near Shelly Bay and regularly takes his two daughters to the playground, initially wanted the parking lot next to the restaurant but claimed that idea was knocked back by local MPs Wayne Furbert and Derrick Burgess.

An application was submitted to the Department of Planning in October 2015 showing the car park next to the playground, provoking an outcry from protesters, who said it would restrict use of the public picnic area and a pose a danger to children in the playground.

The new proposal, available to view at Planning, no longer has a parking area for 16 cars and 18 cycles next to the playground.

Instead, it is proposed that an existing cycle parking bay farther away from the play area is extended, creating 14 spaces for cars and 16 for cycles. Mr Steinhoff said he had no idea if the National Parks Commission would approve the latest draft but planning rules require him to provide additional parking for his restaurant.

His concern is that if the parking lot is too far from the restaurant, customers will be reluctant to visit the eaterie at night or in bad weather. The new plan shows lighting along the path between the new proposed car park and the restaurant.

“Five or six months of the year there is a 50/50 chance of bad weather,” he said. “That’s a real concern.”

He said the original building plans were submitted to government last June but the process had taken so long it was now questionable whether the restaurant could be ready for this summer. “It’s at least 20 jobs that are delayed and it might only be seasonal jobs,” he said. “These are real issues.”

The Parks Commission is expected to provide its assessment of the plan to the planning department this week, before the drawings can go before the Development Applications Board.

This week, campaigners issued a press release stating that public works minister Craig Cannonier had informed them the parking lot would not be built. The Community Against the Shelly Bay Parking Lot said it welcomed the news.

The revised plan has been reviewed by Keith Masser, government’s principal engineer for highways. He cited “reservations” in an e-mail to planning last week, including the safety of a disabled parking space in a lay-by and how “safe and unobstructed use of the Railway Trail” would be accommodated.