The Ministry of Public Works has yet to submit required information and studies regarding the Heritage Wharf project, according to the Development Applications Board (DAB).

Five months away from the start of the 2014 Cruise Ship season, the board said a great deal of work must still be completed on a “critical” monitoring programme and hydrodynamic study.

Planning conditions attached to the approval of the project required a long-term monitoring programme for marine ecology, air quality and water quality be filed and approved by the Board before a Certificate of Completion can be issued.

They also stated a hydrodynamic study shall be completed by November 1 so it could be used to inform potential changes in the monitoring programme, but according to the minutes of the Board’s November 20 meeting a Request for Proposal for the study/programme had yet to be drafted, bid on or contracted out at that time.

The minutes stated that the Board wrote a letter to the Ministry in October questioning why they had not produced information required as a condition of planning approval for the project. It was said the Ministry responded the following day with a memo providing an update on the studies required.

On November 19 a copy of a required Wayfinding Study was filed by the Ministry via e-mail, but no information was provided relating to the other planning requirements.

“The Board expressed disappointment with the Public Works memo content which did not make any specific date commitments to study initiations, completions or submissions; and about the continued lack of progress nearly one month after the memo was filed,” the minutes stated.

“The Board discussed what appropriate actions could be taken in a case where conditions of approval remained outstanding with ongoing acknowledgment by the applicant that the conditions will be fulfilled, but the required work not progressed month after month, and deadlines established by condition not met.

“The Board discussed writing to Public Works on a regular basis to remind them of the unmet conditions. It was agreed that since the Senior Planner would not be in the post after 29 November 2013, the Assistant Director would ensure that the applicant was contacted every month for an update.”

A spokesperson for Public Works said the ministry is aware that there are still outstanding planning conditions, but they are activly working to resolve the matter.

“Documents have recently been submitted to the Department of Planning which should satisfy some of the conditions as required by the DAB,” she said.

“The Ministry is working diligently to complete the outstanding conditions and will liaise frequently with the Department of Planning to ensure that DAB is kept aware on progress.”