The Corporation of Hamilton has objected to the HSBC/Bank of Bermuda revised plans for a seven storey bank on Front Street. On December 21, the bank revised their plans to convert numbers 39, 41 and 43 Front Street into a seven-storey mixed use commercial development with a new pedestrian lane and communal space on Reid Street.

?The Corporation of Hamilton has now received the revised plans for the above mentioned development and although some improvements to the facades and roof line have been made, certain basic objections, as detailed in our letter of November 9 2005, are still valid,? City Engineer David Graham wrote on January 4. ?Once the Corporation has received the revised plans I will write you further. It should also be noted that the replacement of street trees would be the subject of a separate approval.?

As well as the Corporation, six more of the original 23 objectors managed to get responses into the Department of Planning by the end of the 14 day deadline.

However, it was understood yesterday that the 23 original objections remained on the record as the they were still contained in the Planning file which will ultimately be used by the Development Applications Board (DAB) to make a decision about whether to approve a seven-storey bank on Front Street.

Mr. and Mrs. DeForest Trimingham objected to the revised plans to build a bank on the site of the former Trimingham Brothers building.

Robert and Dejan Massey wanted to object further, ?not only on the grounds of illegal height and ground area but more importantly to the complete visual ruination of Front Street?.

?We feel that the ruination of the Bermudian architecture and character of this Island is an affront to all those who hold Bermuda dear, both Bermudians and tourists alike,? Mr. and Mrs. Massey said.

Frances Marshall of Hamilton parish also maintained her objection.

?I continue to find the development hugely out of scale for this area of Front Street, however, I do applaud the architect?s continual efforts to soften its impact on the city landscape,? Ms Marshall said. ?Facades must express the historic look and feel of this part of Hamilton. Certainly the Bank of Butterfield has achieved this whilst also meeting its corporate requirements.?

Jolie Brise of Devonshire, looked at the revised plans, but still asked why a mixture of almost solid concrete walls and masses of stainless steel strips and glass windows on the upper stories was needed.

?The building is too modern for Bermuda,? Mrs. Brise said on January 4. ?We don?t have to keep up with the fast moving world. Why can?t we stay unique in our architecture??

And both Rosalind Fox and architect Ben Nunn said the revisions did not resolve their objections.

Revisions to the plan included solid masonry, window shutters, traditional balcony railings, a new sloped roof and an additional 230 square feet of speciality retail added on the Reid Street side of the building.

Architect John Gardner, of Cooper & Gardner, created the original design along with partner Julia van Beelen ? who was also President of the Institute of Bermuda Architects.

Ms Van Beelen said in December she hoped the revised plans met the goals and objectives of the City of Hamilton Plan 2001 as it was more ?traditional?.