Radical plans to overhaul Hamilton waterfront will ?destroy? the unique area, former Premier Sir John Swan said today.

He said there was ?no justification? for the proposed revamp, which would relocate the docks, create new land for a hotel, offices and luxury housing and maintain harbour views by stopping cruise ships berthing alongside Front Street.

Ambitious plans for the $639 million vision, officially unveiled last month, also feature an underground lot for 1,600 cars and bikes, landscaped public parks and a new road taking traffic off Front Street.

But Sir John ? who first proposed Hamilton waterfront redevelopment a number of years ago ? hit out at the new scheme.

In his first public comments on the project, he said the Corporation of Hamilton should be able to revitalise the area to meet modern tourism needs without making such massive alterations. And he believes the planned changes would create a second city, while effectively putting the now public waterfront in private hands.

He said: ?I thought the Corporation?s job was to honour present taxpayers and not discount them for a new city that would be mostly foreign owned and occupied.?

Calling for residents to speak out, Sir John added: ?The City of Hamilton belongs to and affects every Bermudian. The Corporation members are there to serve all Bermuda.

?If you support their proposal, say so. If not, speak up because they might proceed without your consent.?

But Sir John?s fears about the vision were last night played down by Hamilton Mayor Lawson Mapp were not set in stone and were aimed at kick-starting debate.

In a letter to , the former Premier said that the 2004 winner of the On The Waterfront competition ? which saw 60-plus blueprints tabled on how to redevelop the city?s waterfront ? made recommendations that included new shops and restaurants, relocating the docks to North Shore, Pembroke, and providing Panamax cruise ship space.

Sir John said this master plan, which included widening the Front Street sidewalk, received substantial public support and he added: ?This meant changes to the waterfront without substantially altering what is a valued part of the Bermudian and visitor?s concept of Hamilton, which is the close proximity of the harbour edge to Front Street.?

Outlining criticism of the vastly different new blueprint, he added: ?We have now been introduced to an alternative plan that proposes to substantially alter both the City of Hamilton and Hamilton waterfront.

?This plan radically alters what Hamilton will mean to us and future generations. It fundamentally moves the use of the waterfront from public to private.?

He said the new plans were dominated by residential development of about 800,000 square feet, which could lead to as many as 200 apartments being built. He said the new hotel would have to be of ?substantial height?, possibly eight storeys, to be viable.

Sir John also said that 300,000 square feet set aside for office development on a site ?renowned for its unique beauty? would roughly be the equivalent of five buildings the size of the Bank of Bermuda site at Albuoy?s Point. And he asked what impact underground parking for 800 cars and 800 cycles would have on busy Front Street, already heavily congested in rush hours.

The plans state that an extra 15.5 acres would be added to the 12.5 acre waterfront to accommodate new buildings, and the new development would feature a new road partly parallel to Front Street and separated by a park.

?This could be creating a second Hamilton,? suggested Sir John, ?hopefully not to be called Folly Town.?

He also asked why the new hotel had to be located on Front Street and questioned why the harbour had to be ?destroyed? with so much housing and office development when there were opportunities to build elsewhere in the city.

?If we have overbuilt west Hamilton, why not develop north and east Hamilton? Or, does the Corporation have faith only in certain parts of the city??

The former Premier added that, with nearly 80 per cent of the project set aside for housing and business use, it was likely little land would be left for Bermudians.

The scheme?s backers think 80 per cent of the development would be funded from the private sector purse, with the rest of the bill falling on the Corporation. If it goes ahead, the move is expected to create 860 permanent jobs but could take up to 20 years to complete.

Hamilton Mayor Mr. Mapp last night said the proposals were a vision aimed at promoting debate and were and not a cast-iron blueprint. Further public consultation was planned.

He told : ?The whole aim of the waterfront redevelopment is to revitalise the area and the city. What?s proposed is a model ? nothing is set in stone.

?Just as he (Sir John) had his plan to kick-start thinking on the idea, our plan is almost doing the same thing. Everything you see in the plans might not come to fruition. The idea is to get people talking.?

Mr. Mapp said that one major difference between the two plans was that cruise ships would not block harbour views under the new scheme.

On claims the move would create a second city, he said: ?Most countries are now looking at assets they have to see how they can enhance them. What I want to do is put the city on a good financial standing for years to come.?

The Mayor pledged the plans would not spell higher taxes for residents.

At the public meeting when the plans were revealed, residents were assured the area would not become ?another Tucker?s Town? with restricted access.

Mr. Mapp last night said the intention was for the public to have greater access to the waterfront area than what was currently available.

Planners have also said that companies who developed on the waterfront would be expected to help fund affordable housing elsewhere on the Island.

Government has said it had already held talks about the future of the Front Street docks, with Morgan?s Point and an area on North Shore near the incinerator mooted as possibilities.