renovation of an Island resort was agreed last night.

The House of Assembly voted 26 to ten in favour of an amendment to the Castle Harbour Redevelopment Act 1998, which was passed and will now be considered by the Senate.

The new clause allows for Castle Harbour Golf Course not to be used for any other purpose without the permission of both the House of Assembly and Senate.

Members agreed the change, which is understood to be agreeable to Bermuda Properties Ltd., owners of Marriott's Castle Harbour Resort, who it is hoped will be able to secure overseas backing for a redevelopment of the site.

Plans include renovation of the hotel and resort and new homes on the 192 acre site.

The vote came after impassioned speeches from MPs on the history of the land, which was taken from residents through compulsory purchase in the 1920s.

Premier Pamela Gordon said the past and its emotional ties could not be forgotten, but MPs had to move with the times for the good of the Country.

"Sometimes hard decisions must be made to the benefit of people in this country,'' she said. "Bermuda will be benefitting when we are able to turn our tourism product around.'' Earlier Tourism Minister David Dodwell said placing restrictions on overseas companies would deter anyone from investing in Bermuda.

He added that they should trust in the planning process already in place and not have a company coming back to Parliament for permission to carry out work.

The hotel industry in Bermuda was at a crossroads and re-developments of this type were financed through partnerships, he said, warning that "sending the wrong type of message'' to financiers would be detrimental to Bermuda.

"We are going to have to roll out the red carpet for some of these people, because if they do not come here they will go elsewhere,'' he said.

Opposition Leader Jennifer Smith said the amendment, which she put forward, was an acceptable compromise, but there was still a way to go for any reparation.

"There is certainly a better feeling that there has been consideration given to the views of this House,'' she said.

She added that there was a need to go overseas for investment in the hotel industry.

MPs are to debate the Bank of Bermuda's bid to have 60/40 ownership rules waived next week.

The House of Assembly agreed to reject the Report of the Joint Select Committee on Private Bills on the Bank of Bermuda Act 1998, which recommended the bill be rejected.

The Bank wants the rule requiring that Bermudians own a minimum of 60 percent of its shares waived so it can list its shares on a US stock exchange, which will increase their value and make the bank more competitive internationally.

See Monday's newspaper for full debates