A campaign group challenging the construction of a maintenance yard in Botanical Gardens has said the Bermuda Government did not comply with legislation on the project.

In a statement this afternoon, a spokesman for Take Back Our Park said that Chief Justice Ian Kawaley had ruled in a civil case that Government failed to comply to Section 4 of the Bermuda National Parks Act, which requires that the public be notified of any construction in respect to any “protected area”.

The section also states that Government “shall give opportunity for and shall take into account public comments before acting on any proposal”.

The spokesman said: “Even though this ruling is part of a private civil case, it is very significant for us because it confirms that the public were not made aware of the proposed maintenance yard nor of its magnitude compared to what was there previously nor was there any opportunity for the public to voice their objections.

“In addition to this serious oversight, the planning application for the proposed maintenance yard was advertised as only 169 South Road with no mention that the site was in the Botanical Gardens nor that the site was zoned as protected park land.

“Given that over 3,750 people signed our petition, which was delivered personally to Craig Cannonier, Minister of Public Works, in January, it seems clear that had the public been made aware of this plan, it would not have been approved given the large amount of people who are against it.”

The spokesman said the Government is now holding public consultations on the project as a result of the ruling, and said the group has launched a “call to action”, urging those who are against the proposal to submit their objections to Marcus Wade at marwade@gov.bm.

For more than three years Government has sought to develop the old maintenance yard at the Gardens into a centre for 120 Parks staff, new staff parking, two new buildings, a water tower and a throughway.

However the project has been the subject of scorn, with groups describing the proposed maintenance yard as an industrial site within the national park.