Television viewers were last night warned about the potential impact the proposed Jumeriah Southlands hotel development will have on the environment.

Bermuda Environmental and Sustainability Taskforce (BEST) put on a 30-minute programme to highlight its concerns about how the seven-star hotel would cause “unrestrained destruction to the South Shore”.

It showed footage of a packed out meeting at West Pembroke Primary School, in which environmentalists spelled out their fears. One of them, David Wingate, said: “Great things can be accomplished by understanding nature and working with it rather than against it.” Dr. Wingate described the project, which he said would wipe out many acres of valuable space, as “the worst development proposal you could possibly inflict on Bermuda” because it overrules environmental safeguards and sets a dangerous precedent. A speech from Department of Planning veteran Rudolph Hollis was also aired.

The show was put together on Bermuda Broadcasting Company’s ZBM Channel 9 after a media cameraman suggested the information discussed at the meeting in March would be worthy of TV exposure to inform a wider audience.

In March, environmentalist and BEST chairman Stuart Hayward presented a 3,200-signature petition to Environment Minister Neletha Butterfield requesting her not to issue a special development order for the Southlands project. As yet, no SDO has been granted.

Mr. Hayward said the programme gave the wider Bermuda population a chance to hear from “two significant spokesmen” who had analysed the situation, Mr. Hollis and Dr. Wingate.

He added BEST was trying to use inventive and creative ways to help the public understand “highly complicated issues” surrounding hotel development and the potential strain on the Island’s environment through greater needs to cater for higher volumes of tourists staying on-Island.