Allegations of "strange'' and "unfair'' dealings by the Planning Department were wielded in Supreme Court yesterday at the start of the Bermuda Financial Centre Limited hearing.

A neighbouring hotel took the BFCL developers to court to try and stop development of the luxury office and hotel complex on the old Bermudiana hotel site.

Princess Hotel lawyer Mr. Alan Dunch said the apparent haste with which the BFCL application was dealt with and approved "can only be regarded as strange'' given the normal "slow'' pace of the Development Applications Board.

Planning had "gone out of (its) way to deal with things expeditiously'', he claimed.

Mr. Dunch said there was also "at the very least an appearance of bias'' by the Acting Environment Minister the Hon. Maxwell Burgess who heard the Princess' appeal against DAB approval.

Mr. Dunch said it was a known fact the multi-million-dollar BFCL's chief developer was former Cabinet Minister and Government Senator the Hon. Michael Winfield. And the project was backed by a company which Environment Minister the Hon. Gerald Simons worked for.

Mr. Dunch argued the central issue to be decided was whether or not the planning appeal process violated the Bermuda Constitution. A mere suspicion of bias was enough to infringe on the applicant's right to a fair hearing, he argued.

But Solicitor General Mr. Barrie Meade said no civil rights were denied by the very fact the Princess had a right to appeal the DAB's decision to the Minister and then, if it wanted, to a court of law. "(The applicant) is not suggesting pecuniary interest or that Mr. Burgess acted adversely to the Princess Hotel. The only thing they are suggesting is an appearance of bias.'' And it was Mr. Burgess' duty to be impartial, he said.

While acting Environment Minister the Hon. Maxwell Burgess had no hand in the project, he was still a former colleague of Mr. Winfield's.

It was "not good enough'' for Mr. Simons to appoint Mr. Burgess to hear the appeal in his place. "That doesn't solve the problem at all,'' he said.

"A former Cabinet Minister (Mr. Winfield) in his capacity as prime promoter of the development sought successfully to have an appeal dealt with by a former Cabinet colleague,'' Mr. Dunch stated. "In addition to that, the Minister (Mr. Simons) himself was financially interested...

"The record makes it clear from day one that the Department was wholly intent on supporting this application,'' he submitted.

Mr. Dunch noted that, prior to the appeal, the hotel had written its concerns about bias to Planning and Mr. Simons and it had been conceded the Minister had a conflict of interest.

He suggested the Planning Act be amended to have an completely independent party hear planning appeals to avoid the situation the court was now facing.

BFCL lawyer Mr. Narinder Hargun begins its case this morning before Puisne Judge the Hon. Mr. Justice Ground.