As part of the Department’s ongoing review of planning policy, we intend on conducting a “City Health Check” every two years to monitor the effectiveness of planning policy in supporting the economic growth of the City of Hamilton. Planning policy can have a fundamental impact upon the success of commercial centres through ensuring that there is support for an appropriate range and blend of uses. Furthermore, planning policy can also be used to ensure that proposals for specific forms of retailing activity are directed to commercial centres through adopting a sequential approach to retail planning. 

Conducting a City Health Check on a regular basis allows the Department to monitor how planning policy (both within and outside of the City) is impacting the City and to identify if any trends are emerging which could be addressed through adjusting or rethinking planning policy. The methodology used for this assessment has been derived from researching examples within other jurisdictions and determining what would work best for Bermuda. It is anticipated that the City Health Check will continue to be refined as we identify additional data which could be useful and determine whether existing methods remain fit for purpose.