A woman is planning a leaflet campaign in a bid to stop Bermuda?s new hospital being built in the Botanical Gardens.

Former government chartered surveyor Val Wallace has also urged objectors to call radio stations and ask for the anti-development song by Joni Mitchell, as part of her one-woman campaign.

She told she hoped people would attend three public meetings next week and ask pertinent questions. The Bermuda Hospital Board is set to defend plans to build a $500 million hospital in around a third of the gardens in Paget during the sessions.

Despite Minister of Health Patrice Minors publicly stating that the decision to build at the gardens rather than the current site or the Arboretum will not be reversed, Ms Wallace, from Astwood Road, Paget, believes there is still hope.

Citing government re-thinks on Panamax ship ports and the relocation of TCD after fresh information came to light, she said: ?People need to have faith that the government is listening to them. I would like to think we have a listening government.?

In her leaflet, she lists facts from the Botanical Gardens Park Management Plan 2004 including:

The gardens are visited by some 200,000 people each year.

They are the largest legally protected open space in the central parishes.

There are 42 formal groups who use them.

?If they are going to do open heart surgery in the heart of the gardens they need to know the history of the patient,? she said.

Ms Wallace, who cites 15 years of professional experience working for the government until 1997, said that based on the information available to her she favours re-building the hospital on the current site.

However, she hit out at what she feels has been a lack of information about the new plan.

?I felt that when I went to a meeting last summer, my questions were not being answered. There was two days? notice of the meeting which was not adequate...and the information was overwhelming for people. We were able to digest the fact that we needed a new hospital but were given too much information at once and now everyone is in shock,? she said.

Ms Wallace - a songwriter herself - added: ?I was wondering if some people might consider giving airplay to , which has the lyrics . If people want their voice to be heard they should call the radio stations and request that song.?

Mrs. Minors has said the decision to build the new Acute Care Hospital in the Botanical Gardens was not an easy one, but was based on consideration of public and professional opinions, and cost and time assessments.

She has pledged that once the new hospital is completed, the unused site will be returned to green space.

She also said last week: ?The intent is the new hospital will be located so that as many of the specimen trees and unique features of the Botanical Gardens will be preserved.?

The forthcoming meetings will be held in the first floor conference room at KEMH at the following times:

Thursday 21 September at 6.30 p.m.

Friday 22 September at 5.30 p.m.

Saturday 23 September at 10 a.m.