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Senate approves Tucker's Point SDO

Senators tonight approved the amended version of the Rosewood Tucker's Point SDO following a hot-tempered debate in the Upper House.Independent Senator Joan Dillas-Wright - who opposed the order last week - said she supported the scaled back proposed development, giving Government the extra crucial vote it needed for the controversial SDO to pass.With Senate President Carol Ann Bassett also in favour, the SDO passed by seven votes to four; Independent Senator Walwyn Hughes voted no along with the three United Bermuda Party Senators.Rival Senators clashed on several occasions during an emotional debate carried out as prosterers blared horns outside the Cabinet building throughout.Junior Environment Minister David Burt had outlined a number of amendments to the SDO, designed to appease environmental concerns raised by Independent Senators last week.They included:* Quarry Hill - an area campaigners feared was under threat of deforestation - is excluded from the SDO;* two of the nine planned lots on Paynter's Hill have been dropped, with six acres of land donated to Government instead, so it can be protected in the long-term;* the Whitecrest Hill development is reduced from 54 to 45 lots, with another seven acres of land donated to Government.However, environmentalists protested the amendments didn't go far enough to appease their concerns.