Contractors have been ordered to stop building a sea wall at the home of Opposition MP Grant Gibbons a week before it was due to be finished.Alan Burland, president of BCM McAlpine, told The Royal Gazette he was “surprised and annoyed” to receive the stop work order from the Department of Planning, when it had previously given verbal and email approval.Mr Burland issued a statement yesterday evening confirming his company began work in September to repair cliff erosion and damage to a terrace caused by Hurricane Igor at the property on South Road, Hamilton Parish.He said the Department of Planning advised at the time that permission could be sought retroactively as the work was urgent.Mr Burland said BCM McAlpine told the Department in December that work had been delayed due to the weather and was assured the information provided was “more than sufficient”.“They were very responsible and responsive,” he said. “We had no reason to believe we were following anything but the correct procedures.”On January 26, the Department issued the stop work order. Mr Burland said he didn’t know why, when the Department knew a retroactive application was on its way.“It’s just a pity to have the work stopped the week before it’s completed and cause embarrassment to the parties,” he said. “It just seems like it’s wasting time and energy.”He said BCM McAlpine, which was recently chosen to build the new hospital, had completed many large construction projects and always complied with planning regulations.“Our cooperation with the Department of Planning in this erosion repair project has included discussions, in the past ten days, on the level of drawings and photographs to submit to close out the works.“Our compliance with the stop work order was immediate and we anticipate the order being lifted once the paperwork has been approved.”The construction boss added: “As annoying as it [the order] is now, let’s at least find some way of avoiding this sort of thing happening again.“Going forward, we hope that the process for addressing work of this nature will be better defined, with timely input from the various stakeholders, hence allowing for a more effective solution to emergency work.”Stuart Hayward, chairman of Bermuda Environmental Sustainability Taskforce (BEST), said one of the organisation’s major concerns was the “increasing frequency” of developments being done first and permission sought later.He said BEST was aware of the work on South Road and was satisfied it was “not a premeditated development, but was entirely in response to hurricane-related erosion”.“It seems to me that anyone in a similar position, where the ocean threatened one’s home, would take similar steps.”Mr Hayward said the matter highlighted the need for policymakers to address the likelihood of increasing cases of deep coastal erosion caused by rising sea levels and more frequent and intense weather.“While BEST urges caution in considering a wholesale fast-tracking of planning applications, there does need to be a more formal process for emergency construction or repairs that retains the public’s right of inclusion,” he said. “BEST would welcome being included as a stakeholder in discussions for such a process.”Shadow Education Minister Dr Gibbons declined to comment last night. The Department of Planning did not respond to questions by press time.