Walter Roban insisted yesterday he had no regrets about granting planning permission to two Progressive Labour Party colleagues in his final hours as Environment Minister.Mr Roban, who returned to the backbenches of the House of Assembly after quitting as Public Works Minister, told The Royal Gazette: “It’s not making the decisions I regret. It’s the negativity that has pervaded around the decisions themselves.“I, as a Minister, was seeking to conclude all matters in front of me. Those were decisions that were outstanding and that I had carefully considered over a number of weeks or months.“There was no intention to ingratiate or enrich anyone that was special in any manner. The fact that those matters related to two persons within Cabinet was not anything that factored into how I made the decisions.“I carefully considered them because I was aware of the relationships. I wanted to make sure they were done according to the law.”He said neither the Premier nor anyone else asked him to resign, which he did on Thursday evening, after mounting criticism of his November 1 decisions to uphold planning appeals by Zane DeSilva and Wayne Furbert.“I did it myself; I was not asked,” he said, adding he decided to “step back” to prevent any action of his leading to “any question of perceived corruption” within Government.The Ministry of Environment sent notifications of his decisions on both appeals to the parties involved on November 2.That day, Premier Paula Cox announced a Cabinet reshuffle, moving Mr Roban to Public Works and appointing Mr Furbert as Business Development and Tourism Minister.Mr Roban said he was aware on November 1, when he gave the ‘in principle’ planning permission for both applications, that Cabinet changes were afoot and that he could be moved from Environment.“I didn’t know that for sure though,” he added. “I was not 100 percent sure that I was going to move.”He told this newspaper it crossed his mind that signing off on the two appeals on what was likely to be his last day as Environment Minister could prompt criticism.But he said: “Do you run in fear or do you do your job as Minister? I chose to do my job as Minister. What I could have done was to not make a decision at all. I see that as running scared.“I’m not fearful of my own decisions and never have been. I could have said ‘I don’t want to touch that, that’s too sticky’ and left a colleague to go through that same process. I had no desire to run from a tough decision.”He added he made a “variety of decisions to do with planning” on November 1.Environmentalist Stuart Hayward has accused Mr Roban of acting corruptly and subverting the planning process to help out his fellow MPs.Mr Hayward, of Bermuda Environmental and Sustainability Taskforce (BEST), claimed Mr Roban gave his party colleagues a free pass as he exited the Ministry of Environment, when he should have dismissed their applications.Mr DeSilva’s plan to build warehouses on Devonshire Marsh had been rejected by technical officers because of significant discrepancies and insufficient information about the environmental impact of the project. An appeal was lodged in March, which the Planning Inspectorate recommended be dismissed.Mr Furbert’s proposal to build two additional lots next to his home had been rejected by the Development Applications Board because the land was reserved for agricultural purposes. An appeal was lodged in April.Mr Roban denied any corruption and said neither Mr DeSilva nor Mr Furbert approached him to ask for special treatment.He said he visited Mr Furbert’s property on Brown Estates Road, Hamilton Parish, in order to view the site himself and make an informed decision. “I have done that for other members of the public.”With reference to Health Minister Mr DeSilva’s plan, Mr Roban said since the applicant was the Zanzara Trust, “legally the Minister didn’t apply”.Asked how that was relevant, he replied: “The law is the law. I followed the law.”Mr Roban said he didn’t believe there was any provision in law for the Environment Minister to decline to make a decision on a planning appeal, even if a close colleague or relative was the applicant.“It’s the responsibility of the Minister to take responsibility. It’s an open transparent process. It’s almost impossible for a Minister to make a decision in any kind of secret way. I sat in that space and I knew that.”New Environment Minister Marc Bean declared on Thursday evening that the appeals of Mr DeSilva and Mr Furbert would be “reviewed afresh” by him.Asked last night whether the law required the new Minister to review the appeals and, if so, where that was enshrined in planning legislation, an Environment Ministry spokeswoman e-mailed: “The legal basis for the position is not derived from the Development and Planning Act 1974.”The e-mail continued: “The issue is that the decisions were not communicated to the parties until, at the earliest, November 2, 2011, at which time the former Minister Roban would have been relieved of the responsibility for planning matters.“At the relevant time, the Honourable Marc Bean JP MP was the Minister and would not have discharged his authority.” The Ministry declined to comment when asked for further explanation.It remains unclear whether the other decisions taken by Mr Roban on November 1 are now redundant and will also need to be reviewed.Mr Bean told The Royal Gazette yesterday: “I can’t comment on other decisions he made. I’m sure Mr Hayward and BEST and similar should have had that information. The planning process is open to scrutiny.”The new Minister declined to comment on his predecessor’s decision to resign and said he did not know why the word corruption had been raised in relation to Mr Roban’s actions.“As the Minister says, he has the responsibility and the right to make a decision,” said Mr Bean. “Where does corruption come from? That comes from special interest groups that I feel have more concern with politics than with the environment.”Asked if the appeals process could be flawed, he replied: “How long the process been in place? It’s the process, the law. It is what it is.“As with all processes, within the Government it’s always important to look at where we can enhance and improve. That usually comes in the form of amendments to the legislation.”Mr Roban arrived at the House of Assembly at 10am yesterday and walked across the chamber with his head down.As he approached his PLP colleagues, he stopped to ask Chief Whip Lovitta Foggo: “Madam Whip, where would you like me to sit?” She pointed at an empty seat in the back row on the Government side.All eyes were on the former Minister as he slowly walked to his new backbench position.Before he took his seat, Mr Roban hugged Neletha Butterfield, who was sacked as Estates Minister in the November 2 reshuffle, and kissed her on both cheeks.Later in the morning, he delivered a personal statement to MPs, reiterating much of what he wrote in his resignation letter to Ms Cox.“It was after careful consideration of the events that have transpired that I honestly felt this was the best for both me and the Premier,” he said. “The Honourable Premier reluctantly accepted.”Speaking to The Royal Gazette afterwards, Mr Roban said his “only hope” for his political career was “that I will continue to successfully serve my party and the people of Bermuda”.He added: “I’m going to miss my colleagues and friends but life goes on. I will go on with my life. I have a world of opportunity.”Mr Hayward responded last night to the claim that BEST had a political agenda.“We understand that politicians would see it that way and perhaps even want it to be that way,” he said. “Ascribing such a motive may free them from having to address and admit to higher levels of principle.“BEST doesn’t operate like that. We never have and we never will. We have intervened in scores of development applications over the years, without fear or favour as best we know how.”lSee Editorial, Page 4