A former planning department head has suggested building a new hospital overlooking Pembroke Marsh, with the adjacent old Pembroke dump presently used for composting being turned into large public park.

Nicky Gurret was shocked when she heard the proposed $500m replacement to the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital was earmarked for a 10-acre site in the middle of the Botanical Gardens.

She decided to consider other possibilities and came up with what she feels is an alternative option to build on the edge of the marsh at the site currently used by the Works and Engineering waste collection department.

Ms Gurret, who is a registered architect, has drawn up a site plan and a basic design elevation to give an idea of what might be possible at the Marsh Folly Road location.

She shared her idea with a 300-strong audience at the first public meeting held by the Bermuda Hospitals Board last week to discuss the hospital plan.

And she also handed a copy of the plan to Colin Campbell of the design company OBM, which has been involved in working on concepts for the proposed new hospital.

?I was so mad at them (the BHB) saying they would have to put the hospital in the Botanical Gardens that I decided I would do something. I could not let it happen,? said Ms Gurret, who was once head of building control in the Government planning department, with responsibility for ensuring construction work met code and regulation requirements.

She sees the Pembroke Marsh site as a real option with the only significant question being whether there is enough solid rock for the building?s footings.

The close proximity of the rock mount that leads to Government House indicates that there is, she feels.

?That is a worry because if there were no firm footings it could be costly, but if there is a rock footing then this site could be as cheap as any in Bermuda. I?m pretty confident that it would be possible to put in footings there. It would be far cheaper than building on the current site and would also revitalise the whole back-of-town area and forces Government to build a park on the marsh.?

She added: ?It does so many things on so many levels.?

And space is not an issue. Her quickly drafted plan accommodates a hospital with 1.2 million square foot - well above the projected size of the new hospital, which is currently estimated to be between 400,000 and 420,000 square feet.

Ms Gurret said: ?There should be an alternative site in Bermuda and this does more for Bermuda as it creates new open space.

?There will be a requirement to move the waste depot site and the trucks.?