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A Planning Department offer to change the meaning of ``green space'' has been met with suspicion from a former top hotel.

The owners of Club Med in St. George's are loathe to defer an objection to the Bermuda Plan 1992.Club Med, which has been closed for some years,

The owners of Club Med in St. George's are loathe to defer an objection to the Bermuda Plan 1992.

Club Med, which has been closed for some years, had three areas of contention about zonings on their site when appearing before the objections tribunal.

Their main protest was against the green space designation of the hotel beach house, a large concrete pier and the sunbathing platform.

A planning report to the tribunal said: "Whilst it does contain hotel facilities, it also contains an important and sensitive area of coastline including the beach.

"The Department recognises that hotel facilities do exist on the site and may need to be improved.

"The Department consequently amended the green space regulations in the planning statement to cover this and similar situations.'' The green space amendment reads: "Within green space bordering the coastline and abutting, or otherwise used in conjunction with a tourism development zone, siteworks and structures accessory to tourist accommodation may be permitted at the discretion of the board . . .'' Mr. David Somers, representing the hotel, said the property had been leased for 50 years in 1968 and taken over by Village Hotels of Bermuda in 1984.

He said 40 percent of the area was given back to the Government to be used as a golf course. Another objection was that the Government had been using a piece of land which was not part of the course.

Mr. Somers called for a tourism zoning on the area around the beach house. He said any work in the area would be connected to the hotel.

Senior Planner Mr. David Moore said: "The Department would acknowledge that this site has hotel facilities on it. But it is also a sensitive area of natural coastline.

"The Department has recognised this and changed the green space provision. To make this tourism would be spot zoning.'' Mr. Somers refused to accept that the change would help the hotel. He said that planners may have good intentions but it would not change anything.

Mr. Moore suggested the objection be deferred until the amendment was put before the tribunal.

The tribunal is expected to make a decision by the end of April.