Government would be "irresponsible" to swap Morgan's Point for Southlands until it knows exactly what development is planned for the site, Premier Ewart Brown said yesterday.

He told a press conference that the land exchange deal announced two years ago would only happen when certain conditions were met by Southlands Ltd. "The swap has conditions attached to it," said Dr. Brown. "It doesn't matter who you are in Bermuda and who you go to to complain, those conditions have to be met."

The three Southlands Ltd. directors — Brian Duperreault, Nelson Hunt and Craig Christensen — are due to present their plan for a five-star resort at Morgan's Point to Cabinet today.

Mr. Duperreault said last month he believed Dr. Brown had no desire to complete the land swap, which would see Government hand over 80 acres of public land at Morgan's Point, Southampton, for the 37-acre Southlands estate in Warwick.

Dr. Brown said whoever took ownership of the 80 acres would effectively have control of the whole former US Naval Annex, as extra land would be leased to them.

"It would be irresponsible of the Government not to approve the development plan before consummating the swap," he said. "There is no reneging on the deal at all.

"The issue has been very clear from the beginning: that the swap can only occur after the developer makes the appropriate development plans available to Government and Government approves them."

Southlands Ltd. agreed to the swap after its plans to build a resort on Southlands, one of the Island's largest remaining unspoilt plots, prompted a public campaign to stop the development.

When the exchange was agreed in April 2008, Tourism Minister Dr. Brown said Southlands would "most likely" become a park.

Mr. Duperreault revealed last month that Dr. Brown suggested Southlands Ltd. team up with developer Patrick Ellis in January, after the company had already agreed to work with other partners.

A Government spokesman subsequently said Mr. Ellis spoke for the luxury Amanresorts hotel chain and Dr. Brown posted a link to the Amanresorts website on his Facebook page.

Yesterday, the Premier said he did not have a preference for Amanresorts for Morgan's Point but posted the link so the public could see an "environmentally-friendly" high-end resort. "It had nothing to do with my believing that they are preferred at all," he said.

He has previously complained that the proposals from Southlands Ltd. for Morgan's Point have "too much concrete". "The Aman site was to show people what can done be done with a less invasive or intrusive approach," he said.

"That was just one idea. There is another company called Banyan Tree. So no, not preferred, just showing people an option."

Environmentalists have relaunched their campaign to save Southlands after Mr. Duperreault and his fellow directors said they'd have no alternative but to reconsider developing it if the land swap didn't happen.

The Bermuda Environmental and Sustainability Taskforce (BEST) — chaired by Stuart Hayward — is urging supporters to sign an online petition, send letters to MPs and Cabinet Ministers and attend a public event at Southlands on March 21.

Dr. Brown said yesterday: "I do believe that when Bermudians, especially Mr. Hayward, see the drawings and sketches for Morgan's Point, he might very well reconsider his support for an exchange."

He said Morgan's Point was a brownfield site with some concrete from its days as a military base but added: "You will also find much open space and green land there."

The Premier said the area was Bermuda's last parcel for prime development and careful consideration had to be given to its future. He said it was up to Southlands Ltd. to decide what to do with the Southlands estate.

BEST chairman Stuart Hayward said: "The development proposed for Morgan's Point should go through the same planning process as any other development.

"Through that process, the people and the Government will have every opportunity to comment on and approve or disapprove of the plans. It is thus difficult to understand the Government's insistence on approving the plans before a land swap is consummated."

He added: "The public has not seen those plans, nor does the public have any inkling of the terms of the agreement. The Government has chosen to keep these matters secret.

"They cannot, in all honesty, complain about the public's choosing not to speculate on a development where the details are not known."