governing an east end property development company remain unchanged.

Save Open Spaces chairperson Stuart Smith, who replaced Ian MacDonald-Smith in January, told The Royal Gazette that a quest to amend the Bermuda Properties Act 1958 was the result of an ongoing legal battle.

Bermuda Properties Ltd., who plan to develop land surrounding Marriott's Castle Harbour Resort in Hamilton Parish, is bound by its incorporating legislation to have any changes to the golf course on the property passed through the House of Assembly and the Senate.

BPL has launched a Private Bill which would repeal the section in the 40-year-old Act which governs the disposition of the land so it can secure foreign investment.

The section of the Act was put in when no planning legislation existed that could control the use of the land.

That has since changed and any development the company wished to do on the land would have to go through the planning process. The golf course is zoned recreational, meaning any development is prohibited.

And zoning can not be amended without the legislature's consent.

But Mr. Smith yesterday claimed that the law had been broken and called on Parliament not to let the Private Bill through. He said Section Seven of the Act was ignored in July, 1995, when then Environment Minister Gerald Simons granted a special development order to BPL without taking the matter to Parliament. That order gave BPL the go-ahead to build on the east end site.

SOS appealed the decision but Mr. Simons' replacement, Pamela Gordon, now the Premier, gave BPL the go-ahead.

This forced SOS to take the matter to the Supreme Court, said Mr. Smith. "As we are the environmental watchdog for everybody,'' he continued. "We then took the Minister to Supreme Court to argue the case that the order had only gone through Cabinet.'' That matter is still going through the legal process.

But if the private bill is passed before the legal action is resolved, the legal decision will have no bearing, claimed Mr. Smith.

"We think the private bill came about because of the ongoing court case with Government. It will enable them to do whatever they like with the golf course without having to go through the two Houses.

"If they get the right to avoid the Houses then this court case will be a waste of time.'' When contacted yesterday BPL general manager Peter Parker responded: "I am not surprised that SOS is making these statements but Bermuda Properties Limited is confident that the private bills Committee and subsequently the legislature will look at all the facts and make the right decision for the benefit of the Country at large.'' Mr. Smith stressed that protection of the open land for future generations was a priority.

"This is one of the largest open tracts of land in Bermuda.

"We believe that going through both Houses is the way to go. The matter should go to the Houses, not the planning department.

"We don't know what BPL's future plans are for Bermuda. We don't want them to have total control. The ramifications are endless.'' STUART SMITH -- Fears ramifications.