A plan to change an industrial building into a dormitory for staff at a St George’s hotel was rejected by the Development Applications Board.

The application proposed using the upper floor of a prefabricated building on Ferry Road as accommodation for workers at the new St Regis Hotel.

Diagrams included in the application showed 17 rooms with double beds, a communal kitchen and sitting area, bathrooms, showers and a laundry room.

The proposal also included the creation of two balconies for the residents, with windows added in each of the bedrooms.

The application said: “This site makes sense for this use given its proximity to the new hotel, its location near to existing residential area and existing parking.”

However, technical officers said that residential development is not approved on industrial land.

The proposal was recommended for refusal by the technical officer.

The board found that not enough information had been provided and the proposal was contrary to the Bermuda Plan 2008.

The minutes of the meeting last month read: “The proposed creation of a staff dormitory within an industrial development base zone and the form of existing development on the application site and on other industrial sites in the vicinity fails to provide proper and safe private and communal open spaces as are necessary for the health, welfare and enjoyment of the persons proposed to be accommodated in the group housing facility.”