More residents have expressed concerns about the controversial Newstead Hotel scheme. They have taken advantage of an extension to the period for objecting to the Department of Planning.

The deadline was moved from December 19 to January 16.

The scheme involves partially demolishing Newstead and building a bigger hotel.

An application to develop the site has been resubmitted under Newstead Hotel/Belmont Hills Properties Ltd.

This follows residents? concern that the planning application was handed in under the name of Belmont Hills Properties instead of Newstead.

Developer Kevin Petty, who owns Belmont Hills, intends to demolish part of the existing hotel and constructing 104 hotel rooms ? 26 of which will be part of the existing cottages on the property.

Ten residents from Harbour Road and the Salt Kettle area are concerned that the scheme will triple the size of the hotel. They are worried about the impact on traffic and the sewage system.

One Salt Kettle homeowner, who did not wish to be named, said ?visually? expanding the property would detract from the beauty of the surrounding area. The resident added the current buildings were an example of Bermudian architecture.

The increase in the number of rooms from 41 rooms to 104 was also an area of concern.

?The proposed buildings will be grossly out of scale from their surroundings, and the increase in water, vehicular and human traffic will render the area intolerable.?

Edgar Humann, whose home is directly across from the hotel, presented three letters of objection, two of which were submitted by architectural firm Cooper and Gardener. The firm that Mr. Humann hired outlined the Harbour Road resident?s concerns. These related to size, scale, massing, proposed land use and traffic congestion.

Mr. Humann, who is also the honorary consul of France, told : ?I?m not against the development of the property but it needs to be in the same spirit as the Newstead.

?It?s important for Bermuda to have a healthy tourism industry but something should be done with the neighbourhood in mind.?

He said the proposed plans made the new buildings look like a 1950s hotel that would not fit the style of Bermuda.

No indication of a sewage system had been made and Mr. Humann said he was ?terribly concerned? about what the proposed system might be.

Other residents were worried about noise resulting from the proposed outside bar.

Mr. Petty declined to comment on the objections.