A once-tranquil neighbourhood is now an industrial zone because planning regulations surrounding woodland was zoned for development, an Opposition Senator has charged.

And Opposition Senate Leader Kim Swan also feared homes in the area would suffer structural damage due to nearby excavations.

Ten three-storey warehouses are being built on the area on Anchorage View Lane. Earlier this year, controversy surrounded the site when a cave was opened up during excavations.

As industrial-zoned land, developers must adhere to a 20-foot minimum setback from the neighbours? backyards and supply adequate screen planting to block their view of the warehouses.

?The frustrations experienced by residents of Anchorage View Lane, St. George?s has progressed beyond the boiling point,? Sen. Swan said this week in a press release. ?Residents are watching the former wooded land area, which borders their property and the Oil Docks, sink into the abyss in the form of a huge 100-foot gorge.?

The Senator also said noisy construction equipment operated in the early morning had diminished the residents? quality of life.

?Residents have also experienced structural damage to their properties, which they believe to be caused by the ongoing excavation over the past six to eight months,? he said. ?In addition, acceleration to the deterioration of houses exterior paint jobs and to roofs caused by the loose sand, has necessitated additional maintenance cost.?

Sen. Swan added: ?Their once tranquil neighbourhood is now an industrial zone,? he said.

He said it was ironic that Government was focusing on Sustainable Development initiatives when ?unprecedented? levels of development were eating away at precious open space to irreversibly transform Bermuda?s landscape.

Trinity Construction owner Stephen Daniels is constructing ten, three-storey warehouses each with a 16,000 gallon water tank, 44 parking spaces and access roads for Tiqvah Holdings at Anchorage View Lane, by the Ferry Reach oil docks.

Mr. Daniels admitted the site was loud and dusty but said that was typical of a construction site.

?It?s like any other construction job,? Mr. Daniels said. ?It has Planning permission. It?s just like building someone a home. No one likes noise. We try to be courteous but at the end of the day we have to do what we have to do.?

Mr. Daniels said Rodrigues Excavating and Landscaping was using a rock-crusher and sand-sifter at the site because of the large volume of materials that needed to be sifted, however, said Mr. Rodrigues had a licence to operate it.

?It was more convenient to bring the machine there,? Mr. Daniels said.

?There is no difference than from a slate quarry or any other quarry, except he is using it on aggregate.?

He also said representatives from the Ministry of the Environment had visited the site.

Director of Environmental Protection Dr. Tom Sleeter confirmed yesterday that a member of the Government Department regularly visited Anchorage View Lane and found no problems.

?They are abiding by the regulations of their operating licence,? Dr. Sleeter said.