The owners of Sky Top Cottages in Paget have applied for Planning permission "in principle" to demolish its existing tourist accommodations and build 29 apartments.

An application was submitted to Planning by Bermuda Caribbean Engineering (BCE) consultants on behalf of Failte Limited on September 17.

The application points out that the South Road, Paget tourist accommodations are actually in a residential and open space zone but were built prior to the 1992 Bermuda Plan.

Located high atop a hill in Paget with wonderful views, there are currently eleven tourist cottages at Sky Top.

But the proposal points out that those buildings are ageing.

"The buildings have reached the end of their useful life span and need to be replaced," wrote BCE consultant Delores Beraldo to Planning. "All the existing buildings will be demolished."

The submitted plans call for the construction of five new, separate buildings - four three storey buildings and one two storey building. Each floor of each building is intended to house two, two-bedroom apartments.

"The proposed development meets and exceeds all the residential development standards and includes private outdoor living space and commercial open space," wrote Ms Beraldo.

"The buildings have been positioned to ensure that the grounds can be landscaped, enhancing the privacy of outdoor living spaces. The oversized communal green space area contributes to the rural atmosphere of the property in addition to providing an area for active and passive recreational pursuits.

The plans also point out that 38 parking spaces are available and 23 spots for auxiliary cycles.

But Sky Top co-owner Andrea Flood told The Royal Gazette, there are no immediate plans to close the tourist cottages. "It's just an application," she said.

Ms Flood said that the current buildings were not really meant to serve as tourist accommodations but deferred all further comment on the proposal to BCE.

Neither Ms Beraldo nor David Summers of BCE were available for comment on Friday.