developing property.

Revealed in the first PLP Throne Speech, the forum will draw on various expertise in the community and professions, to ring fence open spaces and arable land.

Its brief will be to establish a method of making it attractive to owners to retain acreage as open spaces or as public parks.

Environment Minister Arthur Hodgson said zoning protected some land from development, but it meant the owner was paying for it to remain untouched -- where the whole Country benefited.

One option would be for the Government to buy up land and protect it for the good of Bermuda, but he admitted that might not be feasible.

"At the moment open spaces are being encroached upon, we want to compensate owners so they will no longer feel they have to realise the benefit of the land,'' said the Minister.

Participants in the commission could include members of the community, a finance professional and others.