Bermuda Land Development Company are putting three warehouses out to tender at the former American military base in Southampton ? although they have no current plans to comprehensively redevelop the site which has remained untouched since 1995.

BLDC spokesman Richard Calderon said yesterday they had already received a number of informal inquiries about the 61,000 foot space at Tudor Hill, advertised in on Wednesday. He revealed, however, that all structural assessments and renovations would be the responsibility of the prospective tenants and did not come under the remit of BLDC.

?The buildings require a lot of work,? he conceded. Mr. Calderon denied the new tendering process was the start of a major development plan for the 28-acre site, arguing BLDC?s ?main focus? ? at least for the near future ? is the current housing project at Southside.

?We?ve got a lot on our plate at present,? he said. ?Renting these buildings at Tudor Hill is only part of a short-term strategy and once we have made significant progress at Southside we can then start formulating something long-term at Tudor Hill.?

Meanwhile, visiting site earlier this week, discovered numerous asbestos piles and old roofing material scattered around the property in plastic bags ? some of which had been opened.

Pressed on the issue, Mr. Calderon said he was ?not aware? of the asbestos stores, but insisted that the property is not open to the general public and therefore there was no current ?safety hazard?.

?We will deal with the asbestos in the way we usually do,? he said. ?The land has no public access and any asbestos that is up there is safe and contained.?

Tudor Hill was handed back to Government in 1995 by the American military, who used the site during the Cold War to track submarines world-wide.

In 2002, then-Works and Engineering Minister Alex Scott launched an investigation into what former National Liberal Party activist Graeme Outerbridge labelled ?wanton neglect? of the facility by BLDC, the company formed in 1995 to look after the vacated baselands.

BLDC was subsequently vindicated when it was discovered the buildings were already in a state of considerable disrepair when handed over by the Americans.

The site was also included as part of a major UBP housing plan unveiled last summer, when they pledged to build over 100 new homes during their first year in power.