A staff housing block for the proposed Jumeirah Southlands resort has been turned down by Planning officials.

Members of the Development Applications Board (DAB) refused permission for the 250-unit, ten-storey building in Hunt's Quarry, Warwick, due to "insufficient information" on the mixed-use facility. The DAB stated: "Insufficient information has been submitted to enable a complete assessment of the proposal."

This included detail on water and wastewater requirements, infrastructure, adequate levels of parking, plus "proof of legal access over Random Lane".

Additionally, Board members said the development exceeded the maximum height for a building in Residential One Development Zone. The Planning application, by developers Southlands Ltd., was originally submitted in December 2006. The building was intended to house up to 375 Jumeirah Southlands staff plus other hotel workers.

It was to feature 125 single rooms and 125 two-person suites, plus café, fitness centre, First Aid/health centre, laundry facilities and meeting rooms. There were also proposed parking spaces for 65 cars and 256 motorbikes.

The DAB however, ruled the density of 'staff housing' was excessive. Members said that under the Bermuda Plan 1992, an apartment building should only have 20 units per acre 73 units maximum, whereas "the proposal is for 3.4 times that density with 250 residential suites proposed".

The proposed inclusion of warehousing and light industry on the same site was also deemed "incompatible". The DAB said this use would have led to "negative impacts on the residential users and is not permitted under the Bermuda Plan 1992 Residential One policies".

"The Bermuda Plan policies do not intend that these two types of uses operate on the same site," the report said.

It was also noted that Southlands Ltd. had lodged an objection to the zoning of the property under the new Draft Bermuda Plan 2008, "requesting that the zoning be changed from Residential One to Industrial".