headed for Supreme Court.

Mr. David Lines, chairman of the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute, said yesterday he was "absolutely delighted'' the Transport Minister had reversed a Development Applications Board ruling and given the go-ahead to the $10-million project.

"We're working diligently in getting financial plans put together and detailed drawings so we can make a submission (for a building permit) hopefully in September,'' Mr. Lines said.

The Hon. Maxwell Burgess was acting as Environment Minister in delivering the nine-page ruling, received yesterday.

The National Trust's executive was to meet tonight to decide whether to appeal the Minister's decision to the Supreme Court.

Mr. Timothy Marshall, a lawyer and chairman of the Trust's environmental committee, said if the Trust appealed, it would allege "appearance of bias'' in the decision.

"When Government is so intertwined with a planning application, no Minister should sit as the appellate judge of the planning application,'' Mr.

Marshall told The Royal Gazette .

Instead, an independent inspector -- provided for in the Planning Act -- should have ruled.

The waterfront museum would include a simulated submersible ride and other exhibits aimed at showing visitors what it is like to search the ocean's depths.

Having six attached buildings, the central exhibit hall would stand 31 feet above Crow Lane. A new dock would be built on 4,000 square feet of reclaimed land.

With Finance Minister the Hon. David Saul among its backers, the BUEI's stated aims are to promote knowledge and protection of the ocean.

The Trust, one of six objectors, says it supports the purpose of the BUEI but believes "the physical structure (is) entirely incompatible with the proposed site''.

On March 30, the DAB refused the BUEI application. It said "the location, size and configuration of the site were unsuitable''. Also, the massing and scale were "excessive and not in keeping with the Bermuda image,'' while access, parking and servicing were "inadequate'' considering traffic that would be generated.

But the BUEI vowed to push ahead with the 12,600-square-foot development, proposed for a 1.1-acre site on Crow Lane, just west of Pembroke Hall.

In its April 29 appeal, the BUEI said the DAB "rendered a decision adverse to the project in error.'' "Institutional in nature, the project is residential in scale, consistent with its neighbourhood and surroundings,'' the BUEI said. "It provides for the thoughtful conversion of private land to public use.'' In a June 2 letter to the Planning Department, the Trust asked that the appeal be heard by an independent inspector.

"The individuals behind the (BUEI) are so closely associated with the United Bermuda Party Government that there is a real risk that the general public will perceive that there is an appearance of bias if a UBP Minister presides over this very sensitive application,'' the letter said.

Not only was Finance Minister Dr. Saul an active BUEI member who helped plan the development, but Premier the Hon. Sir John Swan "intervened in the planning process and chaired a number of meetings between BUEI and the National Trust,'' the letter said.

Mr. Lines and Mr. Jack Lightbourn, also involved in planning the BUEI, were Government appointees to the Wrecks Commission, and Mr. Lines was a UBP candidate in the October general election. the letter said.

However, Mr. Lines is not a member Bermuda Historical Wrecks Authority. Mr.

Marshall said yesterday he was apparently named as a member in error.

Finally, former UBP Premier the Hon. Sir David Gibbons and former UBP MP Mr.

Cyril Rance were also BUEI board members, the letter said.

"The issue of bias has been carefully examined by the courts and we recommend that you consult with the Attorney General's chambers before proceeding further,'' Mr. Marshall said in a June 21 letter to acting Planning Director Mr. Brian Rowlinson.

"The appointment of an independent inspector will obviously reduce the possibility of Supreme Court proceedings.'' Developer Mr. Sanders Frith Brown, an independent objector to the BUEI project, said yesterday he would help fund any Supreme Court appeal.

Government approval of the project amounted to "insider trading,'' he said.

Mr. Frith Brown expressed concern that neighbouring properties would also want to reclaim land from the harbour and encroachments would soon extend as far as Number 8 Shed.

Shadow Environment Minister Rev. Trevor Woolridge said voters should watch for a change of heart from Mr. Burgess on proposed Catchment Hill development.

"On the one hand, the Minister in the most recent debate argued for no development of Catchment Hill,'' Mr. Woolridge said. "Yet on the other hand he appears to be prepared to destroy Bermuda's environment by overturning the DAB's decision to disallow the BUEI development on East Broadway.''