An environmental group yesterday said Government's banning of bulldozers from a controversial development site at Castle Harbour was too late -- the caves were already spoiled.

"The bulldozers have done the damage already,'' said Mr. Ian MacDonald-Smith, Chairman of the group "Save Open Spaces'' which was resurrected yesterday to protest the Castle Harbour and other developments.

Environment Minister the Hon. Tim Smith banned bulldozers from the site until a cave survey was conducted after a site visit revealed possible damage to caves underneath Ship's Hill.

Ship's Hill is the site of proposed condominiums, a shopping complex and cycle livery.

Mr. MacDonald Smith said Bermuda Properties Limited had violated the conditions of a site excavation licence issued by the Director of Planning permitting the clearing of pathways of "not more than ten feet in width'' for the purposes a topological survey.

He accused BPL of creating access roads for proposed condominiums. This, Mr.

MacDonald-Smith said, violated a Special Development Order issued by former Environment Minister Mr. Gerald Simons in July which granted planning permission in principle for the project.

The order stated the design and layout of access roads and parking areas was a "reserved matter'' to be decided by the Development Applications Board pending the completion of an environmental impact report and cave survey.

Yesterday, Planning Director Mr. Brian Rowlinson said that "with hindsight'' he would have instructed BPL to refrain from using bulldozers to clear the "pathways''.

In general, he said, it was left to the discretion of developers how they cleared the land but in this case it should have been cleared by hand or light equipment.

He added that the Department of Planning had commissioned its own report and survey of the caves to assess the extent of the damage.

"We feel the development is immoral and that it will be an ecological disaster,'' Mr. MacDonald-Smith said. "The Ship's Hill development caught us all by surprise and the subsequent events have left us almost speechless.'' He said SOS would be preparing a position paper for every Member of Parliament by next week.

Meanwhile, the group has launched a petition which is available at Rock Island Coffee on the Waterfront at PWs and the Body Shop in the Washington Mall.

"The present epidemic of urbanisation we are experiencing in Bermuda is causing increasing concern among Bermudians,'' said Mr. MacDonald Smith.

"Perhaps the greatest threat to any society is unbridled growth, which is exactly what Bermuda is experiencing today.'' Of even greater concern, he said, was that there was no national plan to control and direct growth. And unless the issue was addressed immediately, Bermuda could look forward to "a rampant proliferation'' of crime, social unrest, alcohol and drug abuse and "all the other ills of the urban ghetto''.

He said Bermuda's current legislation and existing governmental and social machinery appeared unable to resolve those conflicts.

SOS was originally established in the early 1980s in the face of unprecedented land subdivisions. The original group disbanded after it succeeded in securing a moratorium on subdivision until Bermuda's first development plan was unveiled protecting open space.

Yesterday a handful of Bermudians attended the launching of the petition at Victoria Park and added their signatures.

Among them was original SOS founder Mr. Dale Butler and a former occupant of the Castle Harbour land, Mrs. Louise Smith.

"Why take the open spaces?'' she asked.

Her son, Mr. Shiloh Smith said he had signed the petition on behalf of a number of families which once lived in the area.

"We were hurt at how the land was taken from us,'' he said. "We are very concerned. Some of us are even angry.'' SOS--Save Open Spaces members (from left): Mrs. Diana Antonition, daughter Rachael; Mr. Ian MacDonald-Smith; Ms Ellen Brown; Mr. Neil Woolf and Miss Fritha Wolsak.