TBOP Welcomes Botanical Gardens Court Ruling
Supporters of a campaign group trying to halt a maintenance yard being built in the middle of the Botanical Gardens on protected park land have today [Sept 2] welcomed a Supreme Court ruling that places a temporary injunction on the work.
Chief Justice Ian Kawaley ruled in favour of local residents who live near the site, which has been earmarked as a new Parks department headquarters, saying: “the Plaintiffs are entitled to an interim injunction restraining the Defendant until trial from further developing the site.”
The temporary injunction has been granted until the case can go to a full trial, when the Court will consider whether or not to impose a permanent ban on future work.
Jennifer Flood, a spokesperson for the group Take Back Our Park which wants to see the site restored as part of the Gardens, said: “We understand that this is a private case being brought by local residents, given their rights and interests as neighbours.
“It has succeeded in halting the work for now, and the Court’s ruling has brought this whole issue to the forefront again as a matter of public interest and concern. We would want to draw the public’s attention to some particular comments made by the Chief Justice in his ruling.”
In considering whether or not to grant an injunction, the Chief Justice said in the ruling: “There are, on the other hand, wider public interest considerations on the Plaintiffs’ side.
“The proposed development is seemingly actively opposed by roughly five percent of the country’s population [more than ten percent of all those who voted in the last election], who have signed a petition”.
“It is also a development in relation to a protected area which it is all but admitted obtained planning approval without giving the public the opportunity to comment which is required by the Bermuda National Parks Act 1986.”
TBOP said, “Government apparently wants to build a new Parks Department industrial depot on the site, but TBOP says that the site is not suitable for that purpose and that, while it sympathizes with Parks’ staff, a different location should be found.
“If it goes ahead, the depot is intended to be a mustering point for more than 100 staff and the parking zone for dozens of vehicles. In addition there will be two, two story buildings, a paint shop, training room and a storage facility for a variety of items.
“A large water tank has already been erected on the site and the group fears that a number of water trucks will go back and forth from the site.
“The work was advertised in a planning application as ‘169 South Road’ – with no reference to the Botanical Gardens – and Public Access To Information requests have shown that no alternative sites were considered by the Government.
“TBOP put in a request for information under PATI asking for:
- A paper or electronic copy of the full environmental impact report, the noise impact study, the visual impact study and financial analysis.
- Analysis and supporting documentation of alternative sites considered for this development.
- Documents on costs spent to date on the project as well as documents on future cost projections.
“The group was told that none of the reports were in the planning files despite a Government spokesman having been quoted earlier as saying “while numerous studies have been conducted to find a more suitable location for the maintenance yard, the location at Botanical Gardens was determined to be the best choice”.
Mrs Flood added: “We are delighted that the Chief Justice recognized the size of TBOP’s petition and that he also made a direct reference to the Bermuda National Parks Act, which we feel is being breached by this proposed development.
“We ask for the public’s support in helping us reach our goal of 5,000 signatures for the petition.
“Coupled with the lack of information forthcoming from our PATI requests, we feel that it is clear that this project has been pushed through regardless of public opinion.
“We hope that the Government will recognize that the Chief Justice’s ruling now provides an opportunity to re-consider the wisdom of this project, both in the public interest, and in the interests of local residents.”
The Court Ruling follows below [PDF here]:
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Category: All, Environment, News, Politics
Thank goodness for the courts and sensible people like the Chief Justice. How this idea ever got any traction at all is totally beyond me.
Now it’s up to the OBA to do the right thing on this.
That tank is right across from Premier Dunkely house…I see… If it was built back of town!!!!
It’s amazing to me how people can make anything about race. Even conserving protected park land. Sad but true.
Currently it’s about politics, race hasn’t come into play just yet…
are you blind and deaf, you can’t see or hear the veiled reference.
He didn’t say anything about Race! He mentioned where it was..if anything he hinted towards social prejudice! There’s a difference.
Ironically, the worse view of the yard is from Camden House, the official residence of the Premier.
Ummm…no it isn’t. Not even close.
Seems like the courts are biased when it comes to injunctions.
Nothing biased about protecting Bermuda’s largest park
Indeed we are lucky to have a great CJ. This all seems so obvious that it surprises me that it had to go that far before the project was stopped. Didn’t gov learn from the hospital fiasco?
Welcome news & a step in the right direction.
Its now up to the OBA to finally do something about this stupidity
Quite right. Had this whole project not started under the PLP Government & allowed to proceed by a PLP Minister this whole issue would not even be in the courts today.
What you are seeing today are the courts, under an OBA Government, dealing with this fiasco. Should not have come to this. The OBA Minister should have put a stop to it long ago when they first found out about it.
I agree that this must be embarrassing for them now. The good thing is that this now gives them an out to do the right thing and stop the whole development once and for all.
Yup, just another thing to fix from the dumb things the PLP did list. Again, this is NOT an OBA started project.
This was 100% a PLP vanity project from the start. Now it will be up to the OBA to take this opportunity to do the right thing. A Supreme Court ruling is not a small thing
So what you want a soap box Drifter? Sit down. What about the Dumb things the OBA gov’t is doing or you don’t want to talk about that. You don’t have to like the PLP but maybe you should choose your words more carefully because your Gov’t isn’t looking too smart right now either. Can’t stand when people talk like only OBA people have brains..get the hell outta here with that crap
And dispense with those including the Minister, who sanctioned this work etc. Those responsible have to be named and shamed!
The Minister responsible (and the MP for the area) has let seriously let everyone down on this.
Spotty loves him some TBOP. It sound like BEEBOP an SKEEBOP an dat makes Spotty sing an dances
Did this really have to come to that? smh
planning actually reLly doesn’t look far enough forward…and certainly hasn’t considered devaluation of surrounding land throgh traffic and noise inconjunction with people influx and activity also congestive nature of industrial complex in …basically a hospital zone where noise level is conducive and affects healing process…not to mention neighbourhood and tranquility thereof…increesing activity and noise only deminishes surrounding property values…..my only objection though is the installation of an above ground pit that has already been seen to explode sending poops flying for several miles in every direction ,(this has happened in portugal!).This system is experimental in nature and safty measures have to be properly instituted and precautionary signage place…along with a no smokin zone for at least seventy-five feet in all directions surrounding it.We don’t need what happenned in portugal happening here…why…it would be a disaster ,what with our roof water collection and poops landing onnit!….the clean up (abatement!),would likely require tens of millions of dollars…not to mention the smell…
Finally! The Botanical Gardens are a complete disgrace and this development, by our own Dept of Parks no less, was the final straw for a lot of people. Government seems to have underestimated how important the BG are to Bermudians.
You mean to you new bermudians and you treat it as a park and the staff as your servants to clean up after most of you after you dis-use the grounds, most bermudians don’t even come nor care about the place and we where not allowed to come there unless it was the exibition so stop over stating the importance of the place it is only about self interest. The amount of locals who don’t even know where the environmental and parks offices are and even get lost trying to exit the grounds proves the point.
Why does it take a legal decision for Government to do what’s right. That ugly tank thing is hated by everyone, yet nothing was done. Well, here is it. GET RID OF THAT UGLY TANK
Thats my feeling, why did it have to go legal to address this decision.. Regardless of whether it was the PLP or OBA who initiated this process it was a bad decision. After all the upheaval with the initial plans for the hospital and the fiasco that was caused by that. Nevertheless aint the same “Brilliant” minister responsible, the MP for this very same area. smh
Ummmmm…yes! apparently. Because people don’t care about the environment and it cannot speak for itself!
Its a sad day when we need the Supreme Court to rule on something that was basic common sense that the Botanical Gardens should not be the place for a truck depot.
The is good news. People protested when Gov. tried to build the hospital in the Botanical Gardens, why did they think people won’t protect over putting in a new maintenance yard there.
The OBA are trying to revitalize tourism and the Botanical Gardens is one of the top tourist destination on this island so it makes sense that they now do everything they can to help this depot from going in there
My question is why it had to get this far. Did no on in Government think this was a bad idea from the get go? Thank God the courts were able to stop this before it was too late.
GREAT NEWS! This ruling is long overdue and a welcome relief
can someone honestly tell us that there were no other options for this thing other than the BG? seems pretty basic. there is tons of room at the gov. quarry or is that too obvious?
The question is not whether there were ‘no other options’. Of course there were other options.
The question is whether or not this was the best option.
I believe this groups previous articles mentioned “that no other options were considered by Government”. The Botanical Gardens should have been ruled out as an option from the onset. Why was the old recycling plant in Devonshire not considered? Or Marsh Folly?
Botanical Gardens is very much a misnomer these days. The area is little more than a park where the grass is kept cut.
The days when buses & taxis could take tours through it with pride are long gone.
I am glad to hear that at least the courts are willing to listen to what the public want and that someone is listening even if it doesn’t seem like anyone in gov. is hearing
Can someone please explain to me how this ever got approved. Here we have the dept of parks not following their own legislation in one of our most important green spaces? Just because there was a small yard there before doesn’t make this project any less idiotic. What other locations were looked at? Marsh Folly, Quarry, Mills Creek? The Quarry has tons of space and already has a maintenance yard
They take egg show away and now the doing whatever they want with the park.
Gov plan is that all public land will be made private and the people of Bermuda will be boxed into their rental home. There will be no where to go no-where at all. Even beaches will be sold off and fenced off. can you see that far Bermuda..
Yes by the new bermudians by back Bermuda, friends of southland, take back our parks and Hayward and his hypocritical organization all self serving .