Members of the public have inundated the Department of Planning with more than 100 letters of objection to the proposed hotel plans for Southlands.

Southlands Ltd has applied to build a new luxury hotel on the land on South Shore in Warwick which would include building a bridge over the road.

But the scheme has triggered a wave of anger with 103 letters of objection — more than four times the number who opposed the Bank of Bermuda plans to redevelop the old Trimingham’s store on Front Street.

The letters were written after members of the public learned Southlands Ltd was requesting two special development orders (SDOs).

If approved, these would allow the builder to bypass planning regulations. The majority of protest letters are from people who sent in a form letter circulated on the Internet — then simply added their signatures and addresses.

It was created because its author felt people who care about preserving Southlands’ open spaces didn’t have time to compose their own original objection letters before the consultation period closed on January 5.

One signatory, Scott Stewart of Pembroke, added a hand written note at the bottom of his letter.

It said: “Due to the short notice, I am unable to write an original letter. However, I agree with the above.”

The letter addressed to the Director of Planning says Southlands’ request is unwise for the Island because the proposal would ‘seek to build on woodland and open space that is protected from development and alter the coastal zone, also protected.’

The letter further alleged the proposal “violated the spirit of the Sustainable Development Strategy and Plan”.

That criticism was a recurring theme even amongst people that penned their own words.

“The development shows total disregard for Bermuda’s Sustainable Development Strategy and Action Plan,” said Stuart Smith, of the environmental group Save Our Open Spaces.

The more stirring arguments came from people who considered themselves neighbours to Southlands.

Dr. Russell Eddy wrote from his address on 41 Tribe Road in Warwick: “The people who are most affected by this development should be considered in the planning process, including families that have lived in the area for generations.

“The public needs to be given opportunity to fully participate in a planning decision that would permanently impact the face of Warwick South Shore.”

The Southlands proposal calls for a cliff’s edge 300-plus room five-star hotel, condominiums, and tunnelling part of South Road underground. The letters of objection were faxed, e-mailed, and delivered in person. Most of them arrived on the final day of the comment period, while some didn’t meet the deadline and were eliminated from the file.

On Friday, Southlands Ltd was given 14 days to respond to the letters of objection and is presumably working on that aspect of their proposal this week.

Chris Christensen, one in a team of high profile developers for the project, did not return an e-mail by news time.