Opposition Leader Wayne Furbert has hit out at Government plans to build a new hospital in the Botanical Gardens, saying it should be rebuilt at its current location.

The proposal announced by Health Minister Patrice Minors on August 30 will see the $500 million acute care hospital take up around a third of the gardens adjacent to the current King Edward VII Memorial Hospital site in Paget.

Mrs. Minors said the proposal would see the existing KEMH site returned to green space. Bermuda Hospitals Board chairman Anthony Richardson added that rebuilding on the current site had been rejected due to the length of time it would take and potential risks to staff and patients from dust, debris, and noise.

Despite a storm of protest from environmental campaigners after the announcement, Mrs. Minors has stated that the decision to build at the gardens rather than the present location or the current site or the Arboretum would not be reversed.

At a press conference at the Botanical Gardens yesterday, Mr. Furbert said: ?The Government has decided to build on 30 percent of these gardens, which Parliament set aside 20 years ago to be preserved and protected for future generations.

?It is the most important open space in the central parishes, hosting more than 200,000 visits each year.

?The Government decision would cut out the heart of this beautiful parkland, which includes the Agricultural Exhibition grounds, the garden for the blind, the peace garden, as well as magnificent stands of trees.?

He said the UBP wanted a modern hospital to provide the best possible healthcare.

?We believe we can achieve all of this on the current hospital site while maintaining the integrity of our national park system, as well as the commitment to build a sustainable future.

?The Government would have you believe that building the new hospital in a national park is the only realistic course of actionWe think that in making the decision to build on the Botanical Gardens the government is taking an easy way out,? said Mr. Furbert.

He said he believed the Government feared the challenges of on-site construction and had been led into the plans by overseas consultants lacking local knowledge.

He also said he was troubled by what he saw as a lack of explanation for the decision to build on the Botanical Gardens, how the project would be financed and how the existing site would be returned to green space.

?We are calling on the Premier and the chairman of the Hospitals Board to produce detailed explanations of why this decision was taken, and to make them available to any and all who are interested,? he said.

He listed areas he particularly wanted to see further information on, including engineering assessments of on-site construction challenges and detailed cost estimates supporting the Government?s position that building a new hospital on site would cost another $100 million.

?We demand this information because if there is an explanation that warrants the destruction of the people?s land, we want to know it,? he said.

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

Thursday, September 21 at 6.30 p.m.

Friday, September 22 at 5.30 p.m.

Saturday, September 23 at 10 a.m.