If the Environment Minister approves the Southlands Resort proposal she will be defying the explicit advice of civil servants inside her Ministry.

Two reports, written by Government officials and now part of the official Southlands planning file, state unequivocally that the five-star cliff side Warwick resort is wrong for Bermuda. A ruling from the Department of Conservation called the Southlands proposal “irresponsible”.

A second ruling from another Environment Ministry official said: “... this department is compelled to object to this application in the strongest possible terms.”

These non-partisan civil servant positions seem to fly in the face of senior statesmen inside the Progressive Labour Party Government.

Premier Ewart Brown, who is also Tourism Minister, is strongly in favour of the Southlands Resort, as is former Premier Alex Scott.

While these reports weaken the positions of Government leaders, they also strengthen the position of environmentalists who have argued long and hard that Southlands should not be built, or at minimum, should not be granted a Special Development Order (SDO). No voice has been louder on the issue than the Bermuda Environmental and Sustainability Taskforce (BEST).

New member Milton Raposo said: “I wonder if Neletha Butterfield is caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. On one hand her own civil servants and advisors are advising her to reject the Southlands proposal and on the other I think she risks embarrassing the Premier now that he has paraded Jumeriah around Bermuda like royalty. At that time, it seemed as if it was a done deal.”

Environment Minister Neletha Butterfield has published no decision on the fate of Southlands. Earlier this month she took an unprecedented step when she reopened the public comment phase on the property’s SDO request.

She said at the time: “In following this course of action, my objective is to ensure that there has been adequate opportunity for public comment, and to consider all submissions that are made in respect to the published draft SDO before a final decision is made.”

Ironically had Ms Butterfield not reopened the public comment period, the file containing the two reports would have been off limits to the public. The original comment phase closed on January 5. The reports in question were dated after that — January 24 and February 12.

BEST chairman Stuart Hayward believes this is the reason SDO’s are a risk. He thinks they preclude a degree of public openness and inclusion.

He said: “This proposal is an experiment on our shoreline, an experiment in a high density foreign workforce, an experiment in road diversion, an experiment even in some of its landscaping proposals, and it requires the most careful scrutiny before being given the green light.

“Without a full environmental impact assessment, carried out by a competent and impartial third party, and evaluated in a professional review process, there can be no rational argument to issue an SDO for this proposal.”

The Government review from the Conservation arm of the Ministry appears to echo Mr. Hayward’s sentiment.

It said: “... lacking the benefit of a thorough environmental impact assessment aimed at prompting informed decision making, the Department of Conservation Services is duty bound to object to the proposed development.”

The same report is also critical of the resort’s cliff side location atop a tall south shore seawall. It said: “... it would appear as though this structure would be highly vulnerable to inundation during extreme hurricane conditions.”

This month Southlands developers took steps to address some of the concerns raised by the two Government reports.

Entech, the coastal construction consultant for Southlands, said: “A reinforced concrete seawall would be the most effective option for protecting the existing cliff face from further erosion.”

In the original application the same consultant argued a 3,000 square foot concrete block wall, built to hold back the ocean, should exempt Southlands from the typical 50 foot setback requirements.

Developers also revised a plan that would have turned zoned agricultural land into a site for waste water disposal.

In a letter recently submitted Southlands will now use that agricultural land to grow fruit, vegetables and flowers.

In the end, all of this information, along with the growing number of objection letters will go to the desk of Minister Butterfield. She has ultimate discretion on the SDO. Mr. Raposo said: “I’d like to believe that she will side with her staff but you never know.”