subdividing approximately 11 acres of land in Southampton.

Rulings by the Development Applications Board and the Minister of the Environment found Mr. Gage Love's application to subdivide inconsistent with his right to acquire land as a non-Bermudian.

Chief Justice the Hon. Sir James Astwood dismissed the appeal against the Minister of the Environment, argued by Mr. John Barritt, without hearing submissions from Crown counsel Mr. Philip Holder.

"...having heard Mr. Barritt, I was not convinced that any point of law had been breached by the Minister and I dismissed the appeal without calling on Mr. Holder, for the Minister.'' Earlier, Mr. Barritt said the 69,260 square feet of land lies just off Turtle Bay Lane and falls under the zone, garden district.

He said under the Immigration Act 1956, non-Bermudians are not normally allowed to subdivide land.

He said Mr. Love submitted an application to create an additional lot on his land. It was accepted by the Department of Planning but, as Mr. Love is non-Bermudian, he was ordered to obtain approval from the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs.

Mr. Barritt said a letter from Mr. Glenn Titterton, chairman of the Development Applications Board to the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs on December 13, 1990 omitted "the important fact'' that Mr. Love did not intend to sell his property other than as a single unit.

He said he did not know if any other information was submitted along with the letter but that on January 16, the board resolved to refuse the application.

Mr. Barritt said his client appealed to the Minister of Environment but she upheld the Board's decision.

And he argued that the Minister "erred in law in deciding that she could take into account the licence under which he held the property and in deciding whether or not to approve a subdivision of the property under the Development and Planning Act.'' He said that any application to subdivide land could be viewed as land speculation but that his client was only interested in selling his land as a single unit.

"He's only bettering the value of his property,'' Mr. Barritt said. "He is trying to acquire what property rights might run through his land before zoning changes.''