expansion near Bailey's Bay, Conservation Officer Mr. David Wingate has charged.

And the application to expand the Wilkinson Quarry near Admiral's Cave and the Bermuda Perfumery was never advertised, despite the fact that Planning Director Mr. Erwin Adderley said that it should be, lawyer Mr. Timothy Marshall said.

Despite that, former Environment Minister the Hon. Ann Cartwright DeCouto overturned on appeal a Development Applications Board decision to refuse the quarry's application.

In a recent letter to current Environment Minister the Hon. Gerald Simons, Mr.

Marshall called on Mr. Simons to revoke approval and order a new hearing for "one of the most massive developments on the Island.'' In another letter, Mr. Wingate said Planning's handling of the matter was "perplexing...given its potentially devastating environmental impact on the gateway to Bermuda.

"Firstly, why had it never been referred to this department for comment at any stage even though it would involve the removal of the entire ridgeline, exposing the quarry to view from the causeway, Grotto Bay and Henry's Hill, plus the destruction of more than six acres of existing woodland! "Secondly, why had it received approval in principle when the potential environmental impact was so blatantly obvious, as indicated by the Planning Board's initial refusal, even without our environmental input,'' Mr. Wingate said.

At the very least, approval in principle should be suspended until an investigation was completed. "Otherwise, I predict that the Minister will find herself in the embarrassing situation of supporting an environmentally disastrous development.'' The Hamilton Parish quarry is leased to Island Construction, which operates it.

Mr. Colin Curtis, managing director of Bermuda Perfumery owner Smith & Scott Ltd., said he was appalled by "the secrecy'' that surrounded the development.

Although the application dated back to 1987, the first Mr. Curtis learned of it was about six months ago, when the nearby Hollis house was demolished to make way for the quarry expansion.

The steep hillside that would be removed across North Shore Road from the Perfumery protected its flower gardens from the wind and salt, Mr. Curtis said.

"There is no way that our gardens are not going to suffer damage,'' he told The Royal Gazette yesterday. "We have tried to create a lush place where people can get out and go for a nature walk and enjoy these gardens.

"With a great gaping hole and the dust and noise and all of the truck traffic running around, it is certainly going to devalue the property,'' which attracted nearly 200,000 visitors each year.

In a letter, assistant Agriculture director Dr. Roberta Dow said loose sand from the quarry -- which would extend to within 40 feet of North Shore Road -- would "sand blast'' the plants at the Perfumery. There would also be increased salt and wind damage and disease, she said.

The quarry expansion would also do "irreparable harm'' to Bermuda's cave system, Mr. Marshall said. The quarry would extend to within 60 feet of Admiral's Cave, "one of the largest and most geologically significant caves in Bermuda.'' And it would "almost certainly break into'' nearby branch caves.

The Development and Planning Act 1974 made it an offence "to wilfully deface, fill, destroy, or otherwise alter a cave,'' Mr. Marshall said.

The DAB rejected the expansion application in 1988, saying the development would be "detrimental'' to surrounding non-industrial areas.

But applicants Bermuda Caribbean Engineering Consultants Ltd., acting for the Wilkinson Trust Quarry, appealed to Mrs. Cartwright DeCouto. Acting on an independent inspector's report that has not been made public, she overturned the DAB decision and gave approval in principle to expansion of the quarry's boundaries.

She attached a number of conditions intended to protect surrounding non-industrial areas, and said no new phase of the expansion could begin unless the Planning Director certified the previous phase was satisfactory.

Safeguards included seal-coating of the quarry near the Duck's Puddle housing development, landscaping of upper ledges of the quarry, and no blasting within 60 feet of Admiral's Cave.

On October 7, Environment Ministry Permanent Secretary Dr. James Burnett-Herkes responded to Mr. Marshall's September 17 letter to Mr. Simons, which was written on behalf of the Bermuda Perfumery and other clients.

He said the objection was "somewhat belated,'' and noted that the DAB had discretion on whether an application was advertised. The original zoning for the site was changed in the 1983 Development Plan after public consultation, he added.

But Mr. Marshall wrote back on November 12, pointing out that only the Minister could make a decision on suspending approval, and asking for a response from Mr. Simons.

"It was your Ministry which made it impossible for our clients, or anybody else, to object on a timely basis to one of the most massive developments on the Island by failing to obtain their input in circumstances where it was obvious that the development would have a substantial negative impact on the Island,'' Mr. Marshall told the Permanent Secretary.

"Your letter completely ignores the danger which Bermuda's unique cave system is now facing as a result of the permission given to quarry.'' `POTENTIALLY DEVASTATING' -- That is how Government Conservation Officer Mr.

David Wingate described the environmental impact of expanding the Wilkinson Trust Quarry into the green area (left) across from the Bermuda Perfumery.