How much is it going to cost, where is the money coming from and exactly where is the new hospital to be built?

Those remain unanswered questions but one thing Health Minister Nelson Bascome has no doubt about is that the Botanical Gardens are safe.

Appearing before reporters and TV cameras the new Minister quashed any lingering doubts about the Gardens being under threat.

"The new hospital will not be built at the Botanical Gardens," he stated.

Some have wondered if he truly meant the Gardens were safe after making his "no virgin land will be used" pledge in Parliament two weeks ago. And even at a well-supported Save the Gardens celebration event last Sunday, which featured an appearance by Bermuda's international singer-songwriter Heather Nova, many were still wondering if the Minister had placed the Gardens options totally out of bounds.

Having re-iterated that he had, Mr. Bascome went on to state the $1.5 million already spent on the Estates Master Plan has not been squandered because the document, which proposed a number of options for replacing the ageing King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, is still the basis of the decisions yet to be made.

"We are not going back to the beginning and starting all over again. The work that has already been completed by Cannon Design and their local partners OBM International has been of a very high quality and the public has got value for money," said Mr. Bascome.

And he said it was clear not everyone who should have offered an input into the master plan review actually did so, and that would now be addressed.

"We want to ensure that all the voices are heard and all the options and opinions are considered," he said.

The hospital and its partners are continuing to develop options for funding the master plan and the financial repercussions for future years, according to the Minister.

Some of those missing from previous discussions who will be brought in to the review include a number of health insurers who will give a view on what types of healthcare the Island should be offering the population.

Quizzed by journalists on what it all means, he said: "We are not going back to the start, a number of options will be considered as we move forward and consult. But I can't give you a timeline."

With Ministers preparing to argue their corner with Finance Minister Paula Cox to get a slice of next year's Budget money, Mr. Bascome was asked if he knew how much the new hospital might cost and how much money he was preparing to shout for at Cabinet.

He replied: "I can't say exactly how much we are looking for, but yes there has been money put forward. After Cannon Design did their initial brief there were other parts that had to be enacted - persons to look at the report. One of those was Johns Hopkins Hospital. We are asking they give their information."

Mr. Bascome said money to pay for these additional reviews had been put into the budget. He added: "In terms of the building remember there are quite a number of prices that were floated about building which we have not ascertained to put a budget to yet."

A personal opinion given by Senate President Alf Oughton earlier in the week that the oldest part of the KEMH ? those parts of the building at the front which are now used by a variety of Government departments for offices ? be used as the location for a new hospital was put to Mr. Bascome.

He responded: "There has been no lack of people who have called the Ministry to speak to me with other options of where the hospital should go and we do have a number of options and these are the options that we will be looking to.

"The old campus does provide an opportunity as well as other areas. We will be moving forward with the best location that serves our public."

A debriefing session for those involved in the Save the Gardens campaign and the Family Day in the Gardens was held on Wednesday evening.

Environmentalist Stuart Hayward was encouraged to hear Mr. Bascome reinforce his decision not to build on the Gardens and said of the Family Day: "It was a great experience. Some of the feedback we got was that the Botanical Gardens have not had this type of exposure and this was maybe the best use of the Gardens in the last several decades."

The spread of events on Sunday meant there was plenty of room for people to move around and enjoy the atmosphere, he said.