Government deserves some credit for backing off on plans to build an emissions testing centre for the Transport Control Department on the farmland at Frog Lane in Devonshire.

Faced with growing protests from neighbouring residents and the Island's farmers, Transport Minister Ewart Brown was right to do a U-turn on the idea.

In doing so, Government has restored some confidence in the community that it is sensitive to the environment after all and has improved its tarnished record on the issue.

Still, one wonders how the plans - apparently quite advanced - ever got off the ground when it should have been obvious that it was a non-starter.

Nor does it remove the problem of the dreadful state of the fields. These are good quality fields that, at five acres, also constitute one of the largest contiguous plots of arable land left in Bermuda.

It is worth remembering that there are just 380 acres of farmland worked regularly in Bermuda, with another 400 or so that are zoned as arable land but are not farmed.

Yet the Frog Lane fields have not been worked for some five years or so, due apparently to the inability of Government to get the sitting tenant off the land. One cannot help wondering if this was a deliberate policy aimed at freeing up the land for some other purpose.

The rest of the Island's farmers, who plan to plough the fields tomorrow, are right to be proceeding with their plans, at least to ensure that they do not become a forest of Mexican pepper.

Now the fields have been saved for the residents of the area, who already live in one of the most densely built-up parts of the Island. While it is true that the National Sports Centre and Devonshire Recreation Club on the other side of Frog Lane do have substantial open areas, the rest of the area is bound by CedarBridge and Police Headquarters to the east and very dense housing to the north.

Open space is not simply an arable resource, it gives people the chance to "breathe" and reduces the claustrophobia that exists.

Now the Transport Ministry is faced with the problem of where to place the facility. According to today's story, the Ministry will attempt to expand the cramped facility at North Street.

But it could consider placing the testing centre at Southside, much of which is used for industrial purposes already. To be sure, it would be inconvenient for the West End, but depending on how many times vehicles are to be tested, it does not seem an extreme inconvenience.

Another alternative would be to license commercial garages to conduct vehicle testing on site. Most garages are already in industrial settings and would do far less to damage the environment. It is hardly a novel concept and one that deserves to be explored as a prime example of a private-public partnership.

Regardless, it is welcome that Government has dropped the idea of using Frog Lane.

it is good to see Government back up words with action after Environment Minister Neletha Butterfield repeated the need to preserve arable land last Saturday at the opening of the Farmers Market.

Now Government needs to continue its forward plans for putting more open space under the plough and encouraging the Island's long-neglected agricultural sector.