ACE and Government are holding talks about potential development at a Woodbourne Avenue site, despite the plan being refused by the Development Applications Board (DAB).

ACE Realty Holdings Limited was refused Planning permission to build additional office space at 15 and 17 Woodbourne Avenue, Pembroke on February 22.

However, architect Martin Pettit of Conyers and Associates confirmed in a letter to Planning the company would appeal the decision to the Minister of the Environment.

The DAB said it refused the application for final Planning permission because the proposed building?s fourth, fifth and sixth floors would infringe a 75-foot minimum required setback from the public road.

?The Board wishes to advise that the applicant should meet directly with the Ministry of Works and Engineering and Housing to ensure that all matters relating to the impact of the development on the public roads adjacent to and around the application are resolved to the satisfaction of the Ministry,? it said.

The DAB said ACE was bound to comply with the requirements of the Ministry, whose main concern was the disruption of business due to road closures during construction as well as the reinstatement of damaged road surfaces.

Civil Engineer Assistant Curtis Charles said the Ministry of Works and Engineering and Housing would require ACE to handle any necessary repairs once the site work was completed.

In a November 23, 2005 letter to Conyers and Associates, Mr. Charles said ACE?s plan also had a shortage of parking.

?The shortfall in capacity for site parking, I think, can be accommodated within city parking areas but this is an unacceptable practice and need not continue,? Mr. Charles said. ?The businesses near this site have experienced losses due to construction activity from the previous development to this site.?

And on June 14, 2005, Mr. Charles told Planning that ACE?s traffic impact study did not include data on buses and trucks.

However, a quick look at Bermuda Caribbean Engineering Consultants? July 2003 traffic impact study for ACE showed that ?vehicles were defined as ?cars? when the vehicle was a passenger car, commercial vehicle or bus.?

The study said office space in the completed 104,972 square foot Phase One ACE building is fully occupied and an additional 88,218 gross square foot of office space is sought in Phase Two.