The Jumeirah Southlands resort could be relocated to a brownfield site at Morgan's Point, it emerged last night.

Developers Southlands Ltd. are considering moving the five-star resort to the 260-acre peninsula on the Sandys border, according to former Premier Alex Scott.

Mr. Scott has discussed the feasibility of the alternate location with Nelson Hunt, who owns Southlands with Craig Christensen and Brian Duperreault. Yesterday he said "two out of three" of the developers were enthusiastic.

According to Mr. Scott, Mr. Hunt has told him that "he and one other member of Southlands Ltd. are very pleased with what they are hearing". "Other meetings have taken place with their principals overseas (the Jumeirah Group) and with Government also," added Mr. Scott.

During his time as Premier, Mr. Scott introduced the concept of a Sustainable Development Strategy and Implementation Plan to Bermuda. Yesterday he said that although he was not against Southlands, he believed Morgan's Point was a better proposition. It would also facilitate the construction of housing units for local residents, thus helping to ease the Island's housing crisis.

Mr. Scott told The Royal Gazette: "Sustainable development does not mean 'no development', it means you manage it and work with developers. So we talked about a hotel, housing and a golf course at Morgan's Point. We wondered if the Southlands group would be interested in such a swap, and the answer came back as 'yes'.

"I asked Mr. Hunt whether they would be prepared to put in housing as part of their plan and the answer also came back as 'yes'."

Mr. Scott said: "If they are prepared to consider another site, I think we have a win-win situation. Morgan's Point would also give them the possibility of an 18-hole golf course, and with the Port Royal course on the other side this offers the possibility of a 36-hole facility on the Island. This would enable us to hold major PGA competitions here.

"Also, Southlands presents a challenging location — it is on a hillside, and Morgan's Point is not as exposed as the South Shore is to hurricane activity. That was one of the concerns which Planning had.

"I also think Bermudians would be far more supportive of the development. I put it to the owners that this site would not only match Southlands, but is perhaps a better site for them."

Mr. Scott said he suggested Morgan's Point to Mr. Hunt as an alternative after meetings with his Warwick South constituents.

"After the second hotel to the east of Southlands, (Grand Atlantic Resort and Residences), was given the SDO, my constituents, and the residents in Dunscombe Road in particular, started to express grave concerns," said Mr. Scott.

"I asked Mr. Hunt whether he and his group might consider this development on another site."

He said: "The Jumeirah group has to be persuaded because they like the South Shore resort and have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in developing plans for that site. But the local group (Southlands Ltd.) have met with their partners and to my understanding, they have managed to persuade them to seriously consider this other site."

Mr. Scott denied opposition from environmentalists and residents had persuaded Southlands Ltd. against building on the greenfield Southlands estate.

"These are responsible, respectful entrepreneurs. They were actually digging their heels in because of the protests and accusations that they were being greedy and just wanting to make a dollar," said Mr. Scott. "That was not moving them one bit."

Yesterday Mr. Hunt, for Southlands Ltd., said: "There is no comment at this time."

The Jumeirah Southlands resort was granted an SDO in July. Government Ministers say the hotel is needed to cater for growing tourism numbers. It will be the first 'luxury resort' to be built in Bermuda for 35 years.

Environmentalists however, say the 311-suite cliffside resort will destroy one of the Island's last remaining areas of open space and wipe out coastal habitats. The issue of traffic congestion and the diversion of South Shore Road through a tunnel also provoked protest.

Any development of Morgan's Point would require a major clean-up operation. The peninsula was a US Naval base until the mid-1990s and contains much oil pollution. In March 2006, US construction company Clark International proposed to turn the land into a resort and golf course, together with a marina and 300 affordable housing units. However, plans failed to come to fruition.

In October, Dr. Ewart Brown told The Royal Gazette: "Morgan's Point represents an opportunity for sustainable development — a combination of tourism and homes.

"I would like to see a signature tourism resort there — sort of like Atlantis (resort in the Bahamas) — where the hotel becomes the destination. Where the buzz gets around the world, like Dubai has its seven star hotel (the Burj Al Arab — also operated by Jumeirah)."

Dr. Brown was unavailable for comment last night.

The Bermuda Environmental and Sustainability Taskforce (BEST), which collected more than 3,400 signatures to 'Save South Shore', said yesterday it would suspend plans for a judicial review of the Southlands SDO in light of the Morgan's Point proposal.

Chairman Stuart Hayward said: "BEST extends our encouragement and support to the Bermuda Government and the Southlands developers for pursuing alternatives to construction on the extraordinary tract of land at Southlands.

"A value-for-value trade of Southlands for land at Morgan's Point would get our endorsement. We recognise that talks are still underway and that details have yet to be worked out. With that in mind, and responding only to the initial glimpse into the concept given by former Premier Alex Scott, we are cautiously optimistic.

"On the face of it, this is good news and has potential to be a win-win-win solution — a win for the developers, a win for the people of Bermuda and a win for the Island's fragile environment.

"BEST wishes to support this initiative and offer it the best chance for success. Therefore, pending the outcome of these negotiations, BEST has decided to suspend its plans for direct and indirect actions targeting the proposed development at Southlands."