The Bermuda Hospitals Board initially favoured building the new hospital at the Arboretum, but this was vetoed by Government.

The next plan was to rebuild the hospital on its current site ? an idea favoured by the public. However, this more expensive option was ruled out when Government put a $500 million price cap on the project.

The information was revealed by the BHB last night at a public meeting where it sought to give further information about how it came to the unpopular recommendation to build on the Botanical Gardens.

About 175 people attended the meeting at the Bermuda College ? down on the 300-strong crowd on Thursday, but still appearing to be predominantly against the idea to build on the gardens.

Environmentalist Christine Watlington told the panel: ?This country without the Botanical Gardens would be a tin-pot country.?

Deputy CEO of the BHB Venetta Symonds it whittled an initial 11 suggested sites across the Island down to three. These were the current site, the Botanical Gardens and the Arboretum, she said, describing the Arboretum as an option ?that would meet our needs and be the most cost effective?.

However, she said that the initial recommendation of the Arboretum was taken off the table by Government due to access concerns related to its proximity to the National Sports Centre, Police Headquarters and CedarBridge Academy.

Developing the existing KEMH site exceeded the Government cap and was deemed the most risky in terms of escalating costs and patient care.

Explaining how the final Botanical Gardens decision came to pass in greater detail, BHB chairman Anthony Richardson said: ?We went initially to Government and said we believe the best site is the Arboretum. There was, to put it mildly, an animated exchange based on us believing based on the evidence it should be the Arboretum. After this discussion, Government was very clear they would not give us permission to build on the Arboretum site.?

After explaining the board had to work within the parameters set by Government, Mr. Richardson continued: ?Based on that fact, we had no choice but to go back and re-think our decision.?

He said that building on the existing site would end up costing at least $100 million more than the Government price cap and that ?with lots of discussion, time and money spent?, compromise was deemed necessary.

He added at a later point: ?We are not standing here trying to defend a decision. We are trying to explain the process we took to come to a decision. We don?t take this personal.?

Lisa Vickers, who set up the campaign website www.savethegardens.com, told the panel: ?It seems to me that the BHB has done an excellent job with the plans and have answered our questions as best you can and suffered an emotional outburst from the public last night. The final decision is a Government decision. My question is ?where is the Government??

Mr. Richardson said the board was not there to defend or explain the Government?s position and ?obviously we are not going to touch that?.

Raymond Moldenhauer of Cannon Designs clarified the position regarding a suggestion to build the new hospital in the Springfield section of the current site ? thus allowing the existing hospital to continue functioning while the work was underway.

Contrary to a report in yesterday?s , he said that building on this small corner of the site alone would mean building a taller building than the present one ? around three times the height of the current hospital. A building on the KEMH site as it exists at present would not result in a change in height.

One member of the audience asked if the Arboretum plan could be put back on the table if a renegotiated plan with alternative access was designed and gained public approval.

Mr. Richardson said this was possible, and asked: ?I get the feeling there seems to be less sensitivity in terms of building on the Arboretum. Am I right?? The audience responded by shouting ?No!?

Speaking after the meeting, Botanical Gardens campaigner Val Wallace pleaded with supporters via e-mail to make sure they attend today?s meeting at 10 a.m in the North Hall auditorium at the Bermuda College.

?Tonight suggestions were made about using the Arboretum instead and we cannot afford to sacrifice that green space either,? she said.