Videos: Southlands Open Day In 2010

March 22, 2010

Scroll down for four videos from Southlands; BEST Chairman Stuart Hayward’s speech, musical entertainment, a cute video of children swinging on the vines of a Banyan Tree and one highlighting the park itself.

On Mar 21, the much discussed Southlands Estate in Warwick was opened to the public through an initiative by the Bermuda Environmental and Sustainability Taskforce [BEST]. There were tour guides, free refreshments donated by Barritts and presentations by BEST Chairman Stuart Hayward, and Dr. David Wingate. The event was extremely well attended, with hundreds of people in attendance. We have a photo gallery of Southlands here.

The 37 acre Southlands property has been the subject of much controversy, which last week saw Senator Marc Bean call the BEST protests a “muppet show“. In 2005 three Bermudian businessmen [Craig Christensen, Nelson Hunt and Brian Duperreault] bought the property and announced plans to develop a hotel, which prompted a public outcry. The owners agreed to a land swap with the Bermuda Government; exchanging Southlands for 80 acres at Morgan’s Point, so that Southlands could be preserved as a park. The exchange has not yet been completed.

Two children were having fun swinging on a vine of the Banyan Trees located near the main entrance of Southlands.