The Government remained tight-lipped last night on the possible relocation of Jumeirah Southlands to Morgan's Point.

Former Premier Alex Scott has revealed Government is in talks with the Jumeirah Group and owners of Southlands on the feasibility of moving the five-star 497-bed resort to the brownfield site.

Last week he said Southlands Ltd. are discussing the alternative location — a 260-acre peninsula on the Sandys border, and that "two out of three" developers are enthusiastic, particularly as it offers opportunities for an 18-hole golf course and housing units.

Morgan's Point would also appear to hold favour with Premier Dr. Ewart Brown, Minister of Tourism and Transport. A year ago, Dr. Brown told The Royal Gazette: "Morgan's Point represents an opportunity for sustainable development — a combination of tourism and homes.

"I would like to see a signature resort there — sort of like Atlantis (resort in the Bahamas) — where the hotel becomes the destination. Where the buzz gets around the world, like Dubai has its seven star hotel (the Burj Al Arab — also operated by Jumeirah)."

Last night however, the Premier's Press Secretary Glenn Jones said: "No comment".

The United Bermuda Party are now calling on Dr. Brown to state his position on the possible relocation. In a press statement last night, Shadow Environment Minister Cole Simons said: "The United Bermuda Party believes it is critically important to save our open spaces in order to preserve our quality of life. It is the reason we have been against the Warwick location of the Jumeirah development from the beginning.

"We have always said the property should remain open space. Indeed, we called for it to become a national park for the benefit of all Bermudians into the future.

"In making that call, we urged the Government to direct the developers to brownfield sites, such as Morgan's Point, because we felt it essential to preserve open spaces, particularly in highly-developed Warwick.

"So it is with guarded optimism that we hear the possibility of the Jumeirah development shifting to Morgan's Point.

"This would be a sensible 'out' to what is a no-win situation for the residents of Warwick, who, regardless of what has been said this week, still face the demolition of the last large green space in their parish and a radical intensification of land use that will diminish their quality of life."

Mr. Simons said: "We support any such move to shift the Jumeirah development to a brownfield site. However, we have not heard anything official from the Government who, weeks ago, took 30 minutes of television time to persuade Bermuda that the Southlands-Jumeirah development was in the country's best interests.

"Has that position changed? We would like to hear from the Government.

"Right now, the only voice from the Government side of the fence is that of Alex Scott, the former Premier and local MP, who appears to have realised so late in the day that he is on the wrong side of the Southlands issue with the voters.

"In this we have to commend our candidate for Warwick South East, Jeff Sousa, who planted his flag on the issue from Day One and has effectively represented and articulated community concerns about Southlands.

"Let's make no mistake about the motivation behind Mr. Scott's trial balloon. This is a last-minute attempt to save his political skin. This is a man who supported Jumeirah initially and who, during the months when opposition grew, remained completely silent. His silence continued when the Government allowed developers to bypass public objections, by giving them a Special Development Order.

"It is not clear if Mr. Scott is speaking for the Government. We therefore call on the Premier to clearly state his Government's position on Southlands, Morgan's Point and Jumeirah."

Moving the resort to Morgan's Point would effectively mean a land swap, with Southlands Ltd. handing over the greenfield 37-acre South Shore estate to Government in exchange for a piece of Morgan's Point.

Mr. Simons said it raised a question over how Government "intends to square the developers' freehold ownership of Southlands with the leasehold status of Morgan's Point".

The resulting clean-up would also be a political hot potato. Morgan's Point was a US Naval base until the mid-1990s and is heavily polluted with oil.

Mr. Simons asked: "Is the Government going to commit to cleaning up Morgan's Point as a condition of the switch? Towards the end of the 1990s, the cost of cleaning it up from the environmental mess left by the American military was pegged at $12-$14 million. It will cost more today."

He said: "That the Government is reportedly considering a deal on Morgan's Point just weeks after its Special Development Order vastly increased the market value of Southlands also speaks volumes for its lack of planning. It looks to us, to borrow the words of the Premier's spokesman, as a case of 'monumental stupidity'.

"So while we support any move to Morgan's Point, we are concerned that it is politics and not a sincere effort to do the right thing. Without that sincerity, the drive to complete a switch of properties will be very difficult to pull off.

"This Government has shown time and again that it does not really care about the environment. It is the same Government that decided to build a hospital in the Botanical Gardens, that shelved sustainable development guidelines and that gave the go-ahead to destroy Southlands seven short weeks ago."