Environment Minister Neletha Butterfield last night rebutted claims that her decision to approve a two-storey car park for a Pembroke church was the result of a “political backroom deal”.

The Minister was accused at the weekend by Shadow Environment Minister Cole Simons and UBP Pembroke Central election candidate Austin Warner of kow-towing to the Reverend Bishop Vernon Lambe - former head of the Bermuda Independence Commission - by approving the plan for the First Church of God on North Shore Road.

They claimed she should have brought in a planning inspector to review the application, which was opposed by scores of nearby residents.

Ms Butterfield, speaking for the first time about the controversy, said yesterday: “My decision to approve the construction of the parking facility for the First Church of God was reasonable given the circumstances. There is no ‘scandal’ and there was no ‘backroom deal’”.

She said the church first applied to build the car park in 2002 and was refused. It appealed the decision and a planning inspector brought in to review the application recommended the appeal be upheld.

Ms Butterfield added: “The inspector’s recommendation was not supported which led to a revised application being submitted in 2005.

“The revised application provided for a ten-foot setback from Crane Lane, but again, for technical reasons, the (Development Applications) Board was not able to approve the application and again the applicant submitted an appeal.”

She said she carefully considered the application and made the decision that it was within her authority to approve the development on appeal.

“Considering that the new application provided a greater setback from Crane Lane and that the planning inspector had recommended that the previous application should be approved, I determined that it was not necessary to send this application to the inspector for a second time,” she said.

“Critical in my review was the fact that the planning inspector had previously recommended that the development be approved.”

The Minister stressed that each application to the planning department was considered on its merits without any consideration of who the applicant knows or does not know.

Mr. Lambe did not return calls from The Royal Gazette over the weekend or last night.