- Plans to rebuild the 40-year-old King Edward VII Memorial Hospital on ten acres of the Botanical Gardens ? at an estimated cost of $500 million over seven years ? are revealed.

The gardens are chosen ahead of the Arboretum or a phased revamp of the current site, which Health Minister Patrice Minors said would cost more, take longer and cause safety problems while work was carried out. There is a storm of protest from green campaigners ? but Government says the decision will not be reversed.Then Premier Alex Scott says the Botanical Gardens plan is not a fait accompli, and opens the door for a possible u-turn. Amid a rising tide of opposition, he says this will only happen if there's overwhelming public opposition.A sit-in demonstration at the Gardens in protest against the plans is mooted by campaigners.

And a "Save the Gardens" Internet website is created, as a groundswell of concern grows around the Island. A capacity crowd of 200-plus packs out a hall at Bermuda College to hear the Bermuda Hospitals Board explain how it came to the unpopular decision to build on the Botanical Gardens.BHB confirms it initially favoured building the new hospital at the Arboretum, but this was vetoed by Government, a meeting is told. The next plan was to rebuild the hospital on its current site, the option backed by the public. This more expensive option was ruled out when Government put a $500 million price cap on the project. Plans to build a new hospital on the Botanical Gardens are put on hold for at least six months after Government and hospital officials order a further review into the options.

Soon-to-be Premier Ewart Brown comes out against building on the Botanical Gardens. He says the new hospital need not be built on the site and calls for a radical assessment of Bermuda's health care needs.One of Bermuda's most famous characters joins a "virtual march" to protest against plans to bulldoze the gardens. Roundabout man Johnny Barnes donned green trousers, green t-shirt and a shirt featuring flowering plants to take part in the "Green Day". The question of where Bermuda's new hospital will be built is formally put on hold, Dr. Brown's first Throne Speech confirms, until Government determines the type of services the hospital will offer the community. Health Minister Nelson Bascome tells the House of Assembly that the new hospital will not be built on the Botanical Gardens.