The Bermuda Housing Corporation (BHC) has been denied Planning permission to build 38 new homes on Perimeter Lane, Pembroke by the Development Applications Board.

The DAB refused the application because BHC?s submission did not include the consent of the affected neighbours.

Area spokesman John Roach confirmed the neighbours did not consent to the development, which they believe would overcrowd Perimeter Lane.

?We are thankful and glad the DAB put a hold on it,? Mr. Roach said. ?It?s a numbers thing, that?s how you create ghettos.?

He said jamming a lot of people into certain areas can create problems.

The Lane, is bordered on one side by the old Pembroke dump, which is now covered with vegetation.

?The problems with the dump have been ongoing for 30 years,? he said. ?They keep making promises to clean it up, and so on, most of the people here own their homes separately from Government.?

Mr. Roach indicated that, now that the plan had been stopped, BHC should come back to area residents with a new proposal that would put fewer people in the new buildings.

Resident Josette Brimmer, who runs a day care centre on Perimeter Lane, also welcomed the plan?s refusal.

?Good,? she said when she heard. ?Do you know how many people there were going to be? It would bring so much traffic down here. Where are these children going to play? It is too congested down here.?

The DAB said BHC?s plan did not ?make the best and most efficient use of housing land? as laid out in the Bermuda Plan 1992 Planning Statement.

Project architect David Benevides yesterday referred all questions to the Bermuda Housing Trust but BHT staff then referred all questions to BHC General Manager Vance Campbell.

Despite numerous attempts, Mr. Campbell could not be contacted by Press time last night.

Housing Minister Ashfield Devent is off the Island until next week and was also unavailable for comment.

In March, Mr. DeVent said BHC hoped to start work at No. 18 and No. 20 Perimeter Lane late this year.

The project was supposed to take two to three years to complete at a cost of $11,300,000.