A special development order paving the way for a hotel at Southlands has been officially signed off by the Environment Minister, it emerged last night.

Neletha Butterfield told The Royal Gazette: "The SDO was signed on July 30."

Last night she would not comment further, but during an earlier Government television broadcast Ms Butterfield summed up Jumeirah Southlands as "a facility that we will all be truly proud of".

The Minister's approval has all but demolished the hopes of campaigners that she might reconsider the five-star resort.

Stuart Hayward, chairman of Bermuda Environmental and Sustainability Taskforce (BEST), which collected more than 3,200 signatures to 'Save South Shore', said: "It's a real disappointment.

"This flies in the face of the best advice that is available to the Minister, as well as decades of wisdom in planning regulations and decisions."

He said BEST would continue to try to preserve the land in its natural state, possibly through legal process.

"A judicial review will remain on the cards," said Mr. Hayward. "But firstly we will look at all the details of the SDO to see if it is stringent enough and whether all the bases are covered and the conditions adequate.

"The question is then who is going to enforce them. At the moment Government's ability to enforce environmental violations is limited."

Mr. Hayward said: "The SDO is not the end of this, all it is is a milestone. We must now turn the corner on this milestone and proceed to the next phase of our activities."

The 30-minute Government television broadcast confirmed Cabinet's approval of the SDO following weeks of rumours. Premier Ewart Brown, Works and Engineering Minister Dennis Lister and Labour and Immigration Minister Derrick Burgess all emphasised the resort's importance to the future of tourism.

Ms Butterfield told viewers that she had yet to sign off the SDO: "I have to tell you that this has not been an easy process of decision for me. I have read the objections that were submitted. I have heard the voices of environmentalists and I share their love of Bermuda's open spaces."

But she added: "This new hotel will show that we have balanced conservation with the future development needs of our tourism product."

The SDO however, bypasses the need for an environmental impact assessment. Developers Southlands Ltd. only need building permits before the cranes move in.

The first stage of Jumeirah Southlands is expected to be completed by next summer, with the 37-acre resort up and running by 2010. The 497-bed facility will offer tourist accommodation in 176 suites but 135 suites will be sold as fractional vacation units.

The cliffside resort features five restaurants and bars, a nightclub, spa, swimming pools, equestrian facility and conference centre.

Government says the hotel is needed to cater for the Island's booming tourist numbers. It will be the first 'luxury' resort constructed on the Island for 35 years and will offer 590 full-time positions.

Environmental campaigners however, say the development will wipe out one of Bermuda's last areas of open space. They claim it will destroy wildlife habitats and increase traffic congestion along the South Shore.

Yesterday, US tourist Christine Ming told The Royal Gazette that she had spotted a rare bird at Southlands on a recent visit to Bermuda (see photos on Page 1).

Ms Ming said: "I'm a bird enthusiast and was walking through the Southlands beach area and saw a nesting Yellow-Crowned Night Heron there. I think this bird is rare in Bermuda and uncommon in many countries.

"I feel a resort in this area is a terrible use of such beautiful coastal land. I have also been grieved to find that the beaches I once believed to be the most beautiful in the world are now more trash-littered than ever. Bermuda is slowly losing her battle to keep this island the paradise that it was and it will lose much more in the end, as returning tourists like myself will no longer wish to witness the decline."

The Yellow-Crowned Night Heron inhabits the eastern United States and is listed as endangered or threatened in several US states. It was introduced to these shores to replace the endemic Bermuda Night Heron which became extinct after human colonisation of the Island.

Yesterday Andrew Vaucrosson, vice president of environmental group Greenrock, said: "We feel that this decision of the Minister is systematic of this current Government, in that they appear to be ignoring all the hard work the previous administration put into place regarding the Sustainable Development Strategy Plan.

"The current administration led by Premier Brown does not seem to be taking any guidance from the SDSP that his own Party put in place. Also this SDO for Southlands is being granted before the revision of the Planning Act. Is this coincidental or intentional?

"This SDO did not include an Environmental Impact Study which would have addressed the traffic congestion, the shore erosion, the loss of open space, the need to build infrastructure to support this new development, and other important factors.

"Greenrock is concerned by how this current Government seems to be operating outside of its own guidelines stated in the SDSP.

"The Southlands development appears to be receiving special treatment despite being contradictory to this Government's own guidelines. Greenrock hopes that the public realises this hypocrisy."

Shadow Environment Minister Cole Simons was last night unavailable for comment, but in Saturday's Royal Gazette warned: "The SDO enabling the development of Southlands will change the face of Warwick forever."

* BEST is to hold a picnic and discussion of environmental issues at Astwood Park on August 25 from 3 p.m.-9 p.m.

* What do you think. E-mail Amanda Dale: adale@ royalgazette.bm

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