The Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club has hit troubled waters with the Planning Department for ripping out vegetation on agricultural land without permission.

The plot next to the club in Harbour Road, Paget, was overgrown with wild greenery, but three weeks ago workers began clearing the site and pouring landfill material without permission so that boats could be stored.

The club now faces having to take back the landfill and restore the site after the Planning Department stepped in.

Senior Planning Officer Anna Eatherley said the work was done without permission and it was unlikely that retroactive planning permission will be given to clear the site.

Planning contacted the club after receiving a complaint from Bermuda National Trust and, it is understood, neighbours who were upset that the greenery had been torn out.

Yesterday, the chairman of the club's management committee, David Pugh, said the situation would be fixed quickly if a mistake had been made.

Ms Eatherley said: "They have cleared vegetation on the site and put in landfill on agricultural land.

"They would need approval for that and I have written to them and told them I am aware that they have undertaken unauthorised work, and asked them to come to the Department and make an application (to clear the land) or put the land back as it was.

"I told them they are unlikely to receive approval because it is agricultural land. I can't see any reason why we would give them approval. Maybe they didn't know it was agricultural land."

National Trust director Amanda Outerbridge said: "We were concerned that this was a piece of property zoned for agriculture and it had apparently been filled in with excavation material.

"We asked the Planning Department what was going on because it is always a cause for concern when we lose agricultural land."

Mr. Pugh said the club would rectify the situation quickly if a mistake had been made to pacify neighbours and planning, and that he was trying to find out what had happened.

"This is not how we do business here and I will be liaising with our consultants and if some sort of mistake has been made we are going to fix it as soon as possible," he said.

"There is no question about that. If there has been a mistake, we will rectify the situation to the satisfaction of all concerned because we do strive to be good neighbours. An investigation is in progress to make sure we get it right."