The revelation last week from former Premier Alex Scott that the Southlands development may be moved to Morgan's Point seems to have relieved some environmentalists, as it should.

But that does not mean that the proposal should not be looked at closely.

On the face of it, the use of what is largely a "brown field site" at the former Naval Annex for the Jumeirah Hotel development and the consequential creation of a park at the Southlands estate makes sense – a lot more sense than the current proposal.

It is clear that Mr. Scott, who is the MP for the Warwick constituency in which Southlands and the adjacent Golden Hind site, was getting a lot of complaints from his constituents, and that is hardly surprising.

In the meantime, Morgan's Point is one of the few areas left in Bermuda where large scale development can take place without causing undue pressure on the infrastructure.

However, it would also result in the loss of, in Housing Minister David Burch's words, just about the only land bank left in Bermuda.

And the deal assumes that if Southlands was turned into public park, that Government would not decide at some later date to build on it itself. While that would have seemed laughable once, its willingness to build a new hospital on the Botanical Gardens, and its general contempt for planning laws, means that it is a real possibility.

If Morgan's Point is to be used, then the big questions concern what kind of lease the developers would have (since Government would be unlikely to give up the land), and who would be responsible for the clean-up of the former base.

These questions need answers before any kind of deal is made.

The feeling here is if – and it's a big if – a Jumeirah resort is needed along with the other developments on the drawing board, then using part of Morgan's Point is a better alternative than using Southlands.

But there have to be a lot of safeguards put in place, and the taxpayer should not end up being nothing more than a finance provider for a deal that few wanted to begin with.

Protecting –witnesses

New Director of Public Prosecutions Rory Field made all the right noises concerning witness protection and the need for more and better prosecutors in his Department in yesterday's newspaper.

Last week, Public Safety Minister David Burch claimed that the Police have a good idea of who committed the list of murders that remain unsolved, but the reluctance of withesses to come forward and fgive evidence in the courts makes it impossible to bring charges.

That is an old song in Bermuda, and needs to be accepted with a grain of salt.

But it is a fact that people are scared to give evidence, and without going into all the reasons why this should be, there is no doubt that witness support, and where necessary, protection, should be put available.

It is up to Mr. Field, along with Attorney General Philip Perinchief and the Police, to make this a reality, and soon.