Government Ministers are believed to be split on the wisdom of rebuilding King Edward VII Memorial Hospital slap bang in the middle of the Botanical Gardens at an expected cost of $500 million during the next seven years.

There are signs Cabinet did not see eye-to-eye over the controversial decision to build on 10 acres of the Botanical Gardens, with some commentators expressing certainty the Health Ministry and Environment Ministry are at odds over the decision.

A media ?leak? caused Government to bring forward an official announcement yesterday. It was made against a growing chorus of shock and concern.

Work on the replacement hospital is likely to begin in two years? time and the present 40-year-old hospital will stay operational until the new one is fully functioning ? which is expected to be sometime in 2013.

Where the money will come from to build the new hospital remains to be seen.

Two possible routes were mentioned; one with money being borrowed by Government to finance the project, the other with a contractor footing the bill and then leasing the building back to the Bermuda Hospitals Board.

Despite the major impact the development will have on the Ministry of the Environment?s showpiece Botanical Gardens and the annual AG Show, held within the grounds, no-one from that Ministry was present as the hospital plan was unveiled.

Asked if there had been a split at Cabinet level, Health Minister Patrice Minors said: ?There was a collective decision. There was a lively discussion but we have ultimately made this decision.?

She did not say whether it had been a unanimous decision or not.

Shadow Environment Minister Cole Simons claims he had been told Environment Minister Neletha Butterfield had been against building on the Botanical Gardens but had been over-ruled by Cabinet colleagues.

And elder statesman Quinton Edness believes Mrs. Butterfield was out-voted by ?Cabinet hawks? who wanted to ?save a penny but destroy the land?.

National Trust director Stephen Conway said the decision-making process made Government?s much vaunted sustainable development initiative appear a complete charade.

Anticipating the controversy, Mrs. Minors said: ?The decision will concern many in Bermuda when they first hear this. I understand.?

But the healthcare of Bermuda needed attention and support and the decision to go ahead with the Botanical Gardens option rather than attempt a phased demolition and rebuilding on the present KEMH site or build at the Arboretum made the best sense, she explained.

Outlining her reasons she said it would take two years longer to rebuild on the the present site, it would cost more than $100 million extra than building afresh in the Botanical Gardens, and it would be safer to build at a new location compared to the engineering and logistical risks needed to keep a hospital running while it is demolished and rebuilt in stages.

Furthermore, once the new hospital is finished the old site will be landscaped and become incorporated into the Botanical Gardens, giving a net increase of four acres to the Gardens and with an unbroken stretch along Berry Hill Road all the way to the junction with Point Finger Road.

?We know the community was in favour of a same-site development. The Cabinet was called upon to make a very difficult choice, balancing our natural heritage with Bermuda?s only acute care hospital,? said Mrs. Minors, adding: ?Sustainable development does not mean ?no development? it also means sustainable healthcare.?

The plan will use slightly less than 30 percent of the Gardens. The Formal Gardens, Camden and Camden Lawn will be preserved, however the plant house display and Sensory Garden will be affected.

Bermuda Hospitals Board chairman Anthony Richardson said: ?We found this one of the hardest recommendations to make to Government.?

He added Bermuda needed to act swiftly to have a replacement hospital before KEMH reaches the end of its useful life around 2012.

Design details of how the new hospital will look, how tall it will be, where car parking will be located, have yet to be revealed. Mr. Richardson said the BHB would ?share our findings and designs every step of the way with the community.?

National Trust director Mr. Conway was critical of the way the plan had been settled without broad public input. The Trust wrote in July to the BHB calling for it to redevelop the existing site but had not received a response.

He added: ?We cannot accept that the Botanical Gardens and the hundreds of acres of protected land under the National Parks System should be viewed as an exploitable resource ? they are of incalculable public value.

?Government should lead by example and practice what it preaches regarding public input on the largest project in decades, anything else present the sustainable development process as a complete charade.?

Long-serving former UBP Minister Mr. Edness said: ?Everyone in the country should do something to stop this happening. I do not think Neletha (Butterfield) is a fan of this and I?m inclined to think she has been out-voted by the hawks ? the people who want to save a penny but destroy the land.

?It?s the most ridiculous thing. We could wake up in the morning to find Government can make a decision to destroy our parks.?

He believes the hospital should be rebuilt on its present site and said he would fight against it.

Cole Simons, Shadow Environment Minister, said: ?The wolf has dropped its sheep?s clothing. Government has demonstrated yet again this Sustainable Development plan is a charade and nothing else.

?This Government is not committed to a managed disciplined approach to Bermuda development. They are crisis managers living for today only. They have no real concern about protecting our open spaces and natural resources.

?I am told Cabinet overturned the decision of the Environment Minister. There is total disregard for the Ministry of the Environment and its initiatives and recommendations. Yet again this Government has demonstrated its myopic vision when it comes to the environment. They have made a cost-based decision.?

He added: ?We can not compromise one of Bermuda natural gems.

?We can not compromise our manicured open spaces.?

This newspaper was yesterday unable to reach Mrs. Butterfield for her views.