state for all of Bermuda. This is clearly a situation where the needs of society as a whole outweigh the desire of Bermuda Properties Limited to develop residential units.'' That is the conclusion of the letter from the Bermuda National Trust's Environmental Committee to all Members of the House of Assembly asking them to reject residential zoning for land known as Catchment Hill. The Objections Tribunal into the Bermuda Plan 1992 ignored objections by the Trust, Keep Bermuda Beautiful and the Mid Ocean Club and supported development of the area. Catchment Hill is the last remaining large open space in Bermuda and is a 38-acre piece of land at the Mid Ocean Golf Course. Bermuda Properties Limited plans to build high priced condominiums on the land. The Bermuda National Trust maintains that Bermuda is not now in need of housing and that the land is owned by non-Bermudians who will make money by selling off pieces of Bermuda to rich non-Bermudians.

The 38-acre site is partly occupied by old water catchments but the rest is heavily wooded. Catchment Hill provides a rural view for much of the eastern end of Bermuda, especially the areas around Harrington Sound and Knapton Hill and the southern side of Hamilton Parish.

The Catchment Hill issue is a complicated one which involves the preservation of Bermuda's open space for future Bermudians rather than desecrating it now for sheer profit, and profit which is likely to go off-shore. There is also the emotional issue of the land having been taken by compulsory purchase from black families for the purpose of developing tourism. Clearly Catchment Hill was not intended for residential development.

As we see it, the real issue today is preserving the land to benefit all Bermudians.

If the Country had a situation where the land was needed to provide homes for Bermudians, then our view might be very different. In the past some people have felt that preventing land development deprived Bermudians of homes. That is not the case with Catchment Hill. Bermuda has a surplus of housing. But more than that, Bermuda is getting back large developed areas from the United States Government which it can use for expansion and for Bermuda's needs. That gives us a chance to preserve some of Bermuda for the future.

In the years since the Second World War, there have been pressures created by the need to expand the economy, and the results of expansion, to develop Bermuda. In 1994, for the first time in many, many years, Bermuda has the chance to do some significant preservation for the future. If we do not take the opportunity, it will be to our shame.