The Development Applications Board (DAB) has agreed to defer its ruling on whether the proposed Park Hyatt resort will get Planning approval.

The board was expected to make a decision on the application last week.

“The DAB gave preliminary consideration to the proposal at a meeting of the board Wednesday morning but decided to defer it pending further consideration of some of the issues involved,” a Planning Ministry spokeswoman said.

“It is possible it could be reconsidered at the meeting of the DAB [this] week.”

Numerous objections to the development were lodged with the DAB. Most came from the Bermuda Environmental Sustainability Taskforce (BEST) and the Old Military Road Taskforce (OMRT), a group made up of area residents.

Both groups say they understand the need for a hotel in the East End and do not object to a hotel being built on the site but have expressed concern with various aspects of the design.

BEST chairman Stuart Hayward objected to the scale of the development, calling it “un-Bermudian”; OMRT objected primarily to the resort’s sewage treatment plant being built near their homes.

Developer Carl Bazarian has assured the public the plant would be inconspicuous and not produce any noticeable noise or odour.

He said that unlike the ten-story Club Med which previously occupied the site, the Hyatt would feature several buildings each with a maximum three stories.

Around 65 objectors met with representatives of the Planning Department and the proposed resort to discuss their concerns last week.

The Ministry spokeswoman said: “The recent meeting was productive with the Department of Planning noting all expressed concerns.”