Developing the Queen of the East site is the only sensible way forward, according to the One Bermuda Alliance.

A spokesman for the party said that it was ‘with a sense of regret’ that the OBA supported Minister Michael Fahy’s decision to allow the old merchant house to be demolished and replaced by a residential block.

But he maintained the OBA ‘wholeheartedly supported the preservation of the island’s architectural treasures’.

The spokesman added: “It is with a sense of regret that the One Bermuda Alliance supports the decision that will allow demolition of the Queen of the East on East Broadway.

“Fairly intense efforts to find a way to preserve the building have been going on since 2007, when the Progressive Labour Party’s Minister of the Environment, Neletha Butterfield, cancelled the Grade One Listed Building status it had been given in 2002.

“The National Trust tried to find a way to buy the building to restore it, but failed.

“Then-Minister Butterfield said she had cancelled the building’s Grade One listing because the owner had been unable to find tenants for a property without a driveway to give access from the land side, a property that was otherwise isolated by the continuous, heavy stream of traffic along East Broadway.

“More recently, planning permission was given to cut a driveway down to the house, but it has made no difference.

“We think that it has been shown clearly, over the last seven years, that there is no interest among developers in restoring the property.”

The development proposals for the Queen of the East property were initially rejected by the Development Applications Board.

But CTX Ltd appealed the decision and Minister Fahy went along with an independent inspector’s recommendation that the project to bulldoze the old property and build a six-storey block should be given the go ahead. The decision prompted criticism from the National Trust, as well as the PLP.

The Opposition accused the Government of changing its tune over the Queen of the East and contradicting previous statements made about the property on Crow Lane.

But the OBA spokesperson responded saying: “There are two other factors that must be taken into consideration.

“First, the building is derelict, or very nearly. It would cost a huge sum of money to restore it.

Second, it is on the outskirts of City of Hamilton, Bermuda’s commercial centre.

“While the OBA wholeheartedly supports the preservation of Bermuda’s architectural treasures, we do understand that it is more difficult to economically justify the preservation of a cottage-type building in the city than it is in the country. On balance, we believe that allowing the site to be developed is the only sensible way forward.”