“Complex negotiations” with a major cruise line are continuing for the development of the defunct 9 Beaches resort in the West End, where litter strewn by revellers over the Bermuda Day holiday sparked annoyance in the community.

Andrew Dias, the chief executive of the Bermuda Land Management Corporation, said the vacant property “remains under a memorandum of understanding with Norwegian Cruise Lines Holdings, which runs through the end of this year”.

However, he said, there was scope in the meantime for opening part of the 18-acre property in Sandys for the public to enjoy temporarily.

An initial non-binding, six-month MOU between the cruise line and the BLMC was announced in July 2025 by Zane DeSilva, the Minister of Housing and Municipalities, who told the House of Assembly that Norwegian would ultimately present its concept for investing in the redevelopment of the tourism site.

The seaside resort at Daniel’s Head, which featured cabanas — some on stilts in the shallows — closed down in 2010.

It was previously the site of an eco-resort, Destination Villages, which opened in 1999 on former Canadian naval base land that reverted to the Government in 1994.

Last November, with the Norwegian agreement set to expire, the ministry said discussions with the company were ongoing.

This week, Mr Dias told The Royal Gazette: “Because a vision for a first-class tourism product requires extensive conceptual and financial planning, these complex negotiations are taking time.”

He added: “We are aware of the recent images circulating on social media and share the community's frustration regarding the litter left behind at the holiday weekend.

“However, I can add that we are aware that the individuals did come back to site and collected what they left behind.”

Mr Dias was responding to complaints online that intruders to the property were repeatedly leaving trash in their wake.

He said: “Over the past two years, BLMC has invested significant time and resources into actively clearing, trimming and maintaining the grounds of Daniel’s Head property.

“However, the public are reminded that the site is currently closed to public use.

“Due to the nature of the former resort infrastructure, there are hazards on the property. Anyone entering the site is doing so without authorisation and at their own risk.”

He added: “We urge the public to respect the boundaries for their own safety and to respect the environment by not dumping trash.”

Mr Dias said that in the interim, “because the BLMC recognises how valuable this space is to the local community, we are actively assessing what steps are required to safely open a portion of the site for temporary public use”.

“We want Bermudians to be able to enjoy this beautiful area safely while a formal, long-term plan for the site is formalised.”

It came in the wake of comments by Lawrence Doyle, the owner of the Lantana hotel property, also in Somerset, on the difficulty of getting a viable hotel development running in the West End compared with the east.

Mr DeSilva emphasised at the beginning of talks with Norwegian that nothing had been formally agreed upon, and that the BLMC had not issued a lease for any private resort.

While Mr Dias said this week that the BLMC wanted to turn over part of the property to the community, “it becomes incredibly difficult to justify putting resources towards opening this site safely if it is treated disrespectfully by some members of the community”.

“We want to work with the public — but continued illegal dumping and vandalism will unfortunately delay our ability to open any portion of Daniel's Head for everyone to enjoy.”