Conservation groups are calling for an environmental study before plans for a marina at the Spanish Point Boat Club get the go-ahead.

Both the Bermuda Environmental and Sustainability Taskforce (BEST) and the Bermuda National Trust want an Environmental Impact Study (EIS) ahead of a Development Applications Board (DAB) decision.

Planning officials are currently considering the 160-berth marina, which has attracted more than 50 objections from local residents including Boat Club members.

BEST Chairman Stuart Hayward has also questioned whether the application should not also be considered by the Legislature, as he says it encroaches on waters which are "public property".

Mr. Hayward, in a letter to Planning, said: "This development encloses public water space (open space) in a way that the public will no longer have free and unrestricted access. As I understand it, the marine area is deemed to be private property and off-limits to the general public, just as the fenced Club premises are today.

"In effect this will be converting a public resource into property reserved for the private use of the Spanish Point Boat Club and its clients.

"The land below the high-water mark is, as I understand it, Government/public property.

"Is not the transfer or sale of public lands to private entities a matter that Parliament must consider?"

The Bermuda National Trust opposed the application as it "proposes a large-scale development in a sensitive location which will significantly impact on the immediate and surrounding marine environment".

The Trust called for an EIS, saying the marina would impact on flora and fauna, particularly protected seagrass beds.

Meanwhile, the Marine Resources Board has called the marina proposal the "most egregious" application it has come across. It urged the Department of Planning to reject the plans. A Marine Conservation Officer's report noted the presence of seagrass, hard coral, sea fans, sea rods and calcareous algae on the marina site footprint.

Surveys by the Department of Conservation Services also revealed "a highly diverse flora and fauna within the Great Sound".

The 160-berth marina would cover 150,000 sq ft of seawater and extend almost 400 ft west of the existing dock. The plans include a 940 ft concrete sea wall almost ten feet high above the high water mark.

Local residents say the size of the project will destroy their quality of life and damage the natural shoreline and marine life. They say the location is also vulnerable to storm and hurricane damage, while the marina will bring noise, increased traffic and parking chaos.

Among the objectors are Gary and Dina Simmons, of Plaices Point, who are members of the Boat Club.

In a letter to Planning the Simmons said: "We are, both, shocked and dismayed by what we have seen.

"We, therefore, and I regret as a Spanish Point Boat Club member for approximately 30 years, object to both the concept and massive scale of the proposed development.

"We are confident that it will destroy the quality of life in this neighbourhood."

Asked about the possibility of an EIS and whether the site encroached on public waters, club commodore Guy DeSilva told The Royal Gazette yesterday: "I have no comments about the marina as yet."

In a statement last month the Boat Club said it was willing to work with detractors to resolve any issues.

"The application for the marina is a sincere exercise to seek what is possible while being responsible and fair in all respects. This process is ongoing," it said.