A cave that was filled in by excavators on Monday - raising the ire of Anchorage View Lane, St. George's residents - was successfully uncovered yesterday and appears undamaged by the construction work.

But a stop work order has been placed on the site after it was discovered that the building permit developers were using was over two years old and applied to a completely different project.

Environmental Protection Hydrogeologist Mark Rowe visited the large, cleared site in Ferry Reach with landowner and developer Tiqyah Holdings' spokesperson Steven Daniels, yesterday.

The company agreed to uncover the entrance to the cave and hopes to eventually continue its work - given success in obtaining appropriate Planning permission - without further disturbing the sensitive site.

"Everyone there was very agreeable and cooperative," Mr. Rowe said yesterday. "We even got the (heavy machinery) driver to go down the cave and take a look.

"He was able to see that the cave went down a long way. Someone had a torch. There was a small cavity, then it went into a crevice and (we) saw that it went down quite a long way deeper.

"It is of a significant size".

Area residents tried to stop the excavation to protect the cave both Sunday and Monday when they found excavation crews working on the property.

Despite their efforts, the cave entrance was covered on Monday but after Environment Services intervened the ecologically threatening work was halted.

While the cave appears to have been saved, it has since been discovered that the building permit the developers were using was two years old and applied to another project - to build a cement silo.

Acting Director of Planning Larry Williams said yesterday Planning had failed to connect the two applications made with regard to the property and, for that reason, failed to act on a recommendation by Mr. Rowe made in July of this year, that the cave on site needed to be surveyed, at the developer's expense, before any work took place.

Work on the site was ordered suspended after the department looked into the matter this week.

"The building permit was granted in 2002 - and there was no objection by the residents - for a cement silo," Mr. Williams said. "It was given Planning approval in principle in 2001 and final planning approval in 2002.

"The building permit to develop the land has been suspended, the current developer was advised."

He said that the Director of Planning, Rudolph Hollis, did not act on Mr. Rowe's July letter because that was for the old cement silo application (S0056/04) and not for the warehouses proposed by Tiqyah (P0765/04).

Developers need to apply for a new permit to build warehouses, he said.

"The history of the site was not married together" in time to take action to protect the cave, Mr. Williams said.

"Work has stopped. The developer has agreed to stop all work until the current application is sorted out."

Mr. Rowe said the developers said yesterday they did not need to be digging around that area to proceed with their project, if granted permission.

"They may be able to leave the hill there," he said of the area where the cave is located, as it does not feature strongly in their proposed development.

"Luckily it is tucked away in the corner and not in the middle of the property."

In his recommendation to Planning yesterday, Mr. Rowe suggested that Conservation Services - headed up by Jack Ward - "have a look at the cave to document it".

Conservation Services keeps records of all known caves in Bermuda.

"They may have someone on the Island who can get down there and explore it," Mr. Rowe said.

Describing how he felt after uncovering the cave, he said he was pleased that everything went smoothly.

"I am very pleased the cave was not destroyed," he said.

"Having been discovered, we can preserve it. People can keep an eye on it and even give a name for it.

"One of the neighbours said he had been down the cave as a child. It is also of significance to the local community, apart from its environmental value."