year, the House of Assembly heard on Wednesday.

For the Works and Engineering Ministry have struck a deal with the National Trust, owners of the historic Springfield House, for a 99-year-lease in return for Government-funded refurbishment work.

Works and Engineering Minister C.V. (Jim) Woolridge revealed the deal in the House of Assembly on Wednesday.

He said: "It will be used as a community and youth centre for our young people.'' Work on the house will begin this year for the Ministry of Youth and Sport.

Mr. Woolridge added that work on the new Somerset Bridge would begin in two weeks time -- with an anticipated finish in July, in time for the massive Cup Match holiday. The game will be played in Somerset this year.

The first phase of work will involve removing overhead and surface power and phone lines and water pipes and replacing them with submarine versions.

Mr. Woolridge said combat engineers from the Bermuda Regiment would rig a temporary Bailey Bridge alongside the current bridge.

But it will be a single-lane bridge, with traffic lights at either end, and will probably cause delays to traffic while work goes on.

Mr. Woolridge added: "The new bridge will maintain the present form and character of the old one, but will be able to cope with modern stresses.

And he said a review of the state of all Bermuda's 36 vehicle and pedestrian bridges was underway with major work planned this year for the troubled Swing Bridge and Longbird Bridge in St. George's.

Mr. Woolridge added that a feasibility study on a replacement for Longbird Bridge will also get underway.

Earlier, Mr. Woolridge told the House that both his Budget and workforce had got smaller -- but because Parks were last year transferred to the Youth and Sport Ministry -- along with the $5.2 million price tag.

Other major savings to the Ministry's Budget include the treatment of the three Government golf courses as a separate entity -- a total of $5 million off Works and Engineering's books.

And a reduction in insurance rates for contents and property insurance will save $1.6 million.

He told the House the Ministry had around 560 employees, with less than ten percent being contract officers.

Mr. Woolridge said he could boast 24 Bermudian graduates in training positions in the professions, plus 20 apprentices.

He said the Bermuda Housing Corporation was encouraging private sector landlords to rent their houses to it, to be sublet to tenants "who might have difficulty in accessing these houses for numerous reasons, such as poor credit histories.'' And he added that landlords would be guaranteed rent in full and on time, with the house returned in good condition.

He added refurbishment programmes had upgraded leasehold properties in Prospect and Cedar Park, and it is planned that the leaseholders will be converted to freehold owners under a condominium-style programme.

Mr. Woolridge said: "Over the past year we have helped 34 Bermudians become first-time homeowners by committing approximately $7 million in mortgage funds.'' People taking advantage of the scheme get 85 percent mortgages over 20 years.

Mr. Woolridge added: "This programme is designed to assist those that would not normally qualify for a mortgage through the private sector so it is a supplement to and does not compete with the private sector.'' He said that it had been estimated that it would take around ten years for poisonous gases to filter out of the old Pembroke dump, earmarked for a park development.

But Mr. Woolridge said a field next to the dump area had been pressed into service and work was going on to provide a wider waterway to help with flooding problems in the area.

He added that the Tynes Bay waste plant had dealt with tons of waste -- 105,000 lbs of it potentially lethal asbestos.

And he praised Tynes Bay for its long opening hours, allowing people to drop off trash themselves.

But Shadow Works and Engineering Minister Stanley Morton said people with transportation and enough land around their house could store waste without it "being an offence to the main property'' before driving it to Tynes Bay.

And new Hamilton East MP Derrick Burgess called for two day a week garbage collection to be introduced for the peak tourism months of the summer.

He said: "When you have a guest in your home, you want everything to be first class.

"Rodents, pests and the smell of the garbage is offensive during the summer months.'' Ministry of Works, Engineering and Housing 1998/99 estimates Ministry responsibility: To manage all public lands, works water supply, sewerage, buildings and highways. To administer all funds allocated for the construction, erection, improvement, maintenance and repairs of the above and to provide a refuse collection and disposal service.

Budget estimate: $41,420,000 (last year $55,625,000) Budget allocations Works & Engineering $39,837,000 Bermuda Housing Corporation $1,583,000 C.V. (Jim) Woolridge