The Bermuda National Trust is continuing to voice its opposition to constructing a new hospital on green open space ? despite conceding that building on the current site presents enormous challenges.

BNT director Steven Conway confirmed yesterday that he had attended the Bermuda Hospital Board?s public meeting on Wednesday evening at the Cathedral Hall in Hamilton, stressing that the community faces some ?hard decisions? in balancing the need for better healthcare against the preservation of cherished parkland.

However, building at the Botanical Gardens or the Arboretum should be only a ?last resort? he argued.

?The Hospitals Board meeting was very interesting to see the reasoning behind the proposals to use protected park land,? he said. ?It is a huge question for the Island to decide how it moves on the direction of health for the next 50 years and whatever site is chosen is going to mean some hard decisions.

?There appear to be complex logistical problems in terms of space planning for using the existing King Edward VII Memorial Hospital site and I am sure that, naturally, they would prefer to build on a new site and then demolish the old hospital. However, the loss of part of the Arboretum or the Botanical Gardens is not a luxury that Bermuda can afford unless it is absolutely the very last resort and the existing site is an impossibility. This does not appear to be the case as the existing KEMH site appears to be a feasible option with the least impact of new land ? even if it is difficult. This looks like to way to go.

?From the Trust?s point of view, we wish to assess what we saw (on Wednesday) night and give a formal response (to the BHB). My impression from those who attended was that the existing KEMH site was preferred, with some very strong opinions against any use of open space. The challenge must be how best to utilise the existing site, overcoming the logistics of making this happen. Parking and staff housing, the need for an increased floor-to-floor height of 20 feet and the need to design for future changes were some of the points that came out. We hope to get back to the Hospitals Board as soon as we can.?

Under questioning from at least 100 attendees at Wednesday?s meeting, the BHB confirmed that building a new hospital on the current KEMH site was ?doable? ? while warning that the cost would be significantly higher and the completion date would be put back by up to five years. An outline of the proposals can be found online at www.bermudahospitals.bm.