Government has seized possession of the former Dolphin Quest facility at Southampton Princess due to the hotel's inaction in repairing the property following Hurricane Gert.

But the hotel will still be responsible for bringing the property back to its natural state, Works and Engineering Minister Alex Scott said yesterday.

Works and Engineering officers and hotel representatives are meeting today at the site to agree on the details of what work must be done and set a timetable for how it will proceed.

Dolphin Quest was forced to abandon the site - just over three years after opening - due to damages resulting from Hurricane Gert in November 1999.

The hurricane damage was so severe that four dolphins escaped from the pen - two have never been found and are believed to be living free and wild - and it was impossible to re-house the mammals at the site.

The hope at the time was that Dolphin Quest could move back to the hotel within a year of Gert but the repair costs - estimated at $3 million - were deemed to be prohibitive.

Dolphin Quest announced earlier in the year that it would definitely not move the attraction back to the former site.

Ms Mihelcic said the Dockyard facility meets both Bermuda and international standards for caring for the mammals and the tourist attraction will make the keep its permanent home.

Meanwhile the old site remained unused, hurricane-damaged and altered to accommodate the former attraction.

Mr. Scott said Government made the hotel's owners aware in March that the lease on the three-acre South Shore property was considered void by breach as the repairs - which were to be completed within one year - were not undertaken.

Government asked in the letter that the hotel make its intentions for the site known.

Mr. Scott said he received confirmation this week that the restoration efforts would begin without further delay.

"(Southampton Princess) will need to replace some of the rockface to its natural state," Mr. Scott said.

The shore environment was also modified to limit the effect of the tides on the pen with a surge protection barrier.

"We want that remedied as close as possible to the original state.

"If it is not in acceptable condition (following restoration) there will be penalties. That is a burden of the (former) tenant."

The area has been tightly restricted with anti-trespassers signs posted to keep the public out since 1996.

But Mr. Scott said yesterday it would be returned to the public.

"There is no beach there," he said. "It is just foreshore and, I believe, a boardwalk but it would be for public access."

The Minister said the small bay had lent itself well to the dolphin attraction but he was unaware of any other proposals for the property.

"We're giving it back to the environment," he said.