The Opposition yesterday called on Government to release the financial values of the Southlands land swap, saying the public also had a right to know the costs of the environmental clean-up.

Developers Southlands Ltd. signed an agreement with Premier Dr. Ewart Brown and Acting Environment Minister Derrick Burgess on Wednesday, to exchange their 37 acres of open space at Southlands for 80 acres of publicly-owned brownfield site at Morgan's Point.

The signing of the land transfer document ends months of speculation that the Jumeirah Southlands resort was to be relocated to the former US Naval Air Station at Sandys.

However, at a Press conference announcing the move on Wednesday, Government could not say as yet how much the environmental remediation of Morgan's Point would cost.

The Premier announced in November that taxpayers will have to pay for the clean-up, but Opposition MP Dr. Grant Gibbons estimated last year that this could cost between $15 and $25 million.

The site is heavily polluted with asbestos, metals, petroleum products and other chemicals.

Yesterday, the United Bermuda Party issued a statement in response to the land transfer, welcoming the preservation of the Southlands estate on the South Shore, but calling on Government to make a firm commitment on plans to turn it into a national park. Dr. Brown said on Wednesday that is was "most likely" to become a park.

The UBP also called for more information on the financial values of the land at Morgan's Point. In a statement it said: "The United Bermuda Party welcomes any initiative that preserves our Island's precious open spaces. The shift of the Southlands development initiative to Morgan's Point appears to satisfy that position.

"However, we remain concerned with a host of uncertainties emanating from this complex arrangement.

"This Government's commitment to proper national planning and open space preservation is poor and therefore the country needs to be assured that a Southlands national park is precisely what is in line for the 37-acre property.

"The Government must not forget that preservation of that rare piece of open space in densely populated Warwick was what motivated public protests and led to the land swap.

"In the first instance, we call on the Government to make an unequivocal commitment to turning Southlands into a national park, as we first called for more than a year ago (ubp.bm/news archives, February 22, 2007).

"Such a commitment is the only appropriate follow-on to the deal announced on Wednesday. The Premier's statement that Southlands would 'likely' become a park is simply not good enough.

"The Morgan's Point side of the equation is much more complex and questionable. Before we commit to supporting the plan as announced, there are a host of questions and concerns that need to be answered.

"In this regard, the Government needs to be more forthcoming with information. The public has a right to know what is planned for public lands and for public spending. Yesterday's announcement was a poor start in that respect.

"The public, for example, has a right to know the Government's best estimate on the cost of cleaning up Morgan's Point, since it has committed to cleaning the site with public money.

"There is already ample information available on the extent of pollution for the Government to put a price on any clean-up. (We presume Government had such a figure in place when it first committed the public purse to the clean-up.)

"The public also has a right to know the cost of the transaction in its land deal with Southlands Ltd. because Morgan's Point is public land. In this regard we ask: What is the market value of Morgan's Point? Was there a study conducted by an independent land valuation expert?

"What metric was used to arrive at the formula that equates one acre of Southlands with more than two acres at Morgan's Point? Did the Government factor in an environmentally-cleaned Morgan's Point — as it is committed to doing — into the land swap, or is the public going to, in effect, pay first for the land swap and then again for the clean-up?"

The statement continued: "The Government cannot proceed with the same behind-closed-doors approach to development that characterises its work elsewhere. We would like to see public meetings that provide more detail about the vision for the property.

"We would also like to see conceptual drawings for the site that locate the two hotel projects mentioned yesterday, the golf course, the marina and other components of the development.

"Right now, the components of the plan bear a striking resemblance to the original land use plan for the site that the legislature endorsed in 1996. Is there any substantive difference in the vision for the site today?

"We want to know what will be role of the Bermuda Land Development Company, which holds the former military base lands under lease and operates with a mandate to manage their development and use. It appears the BLDC was absent from yesterday's announcement.

"Another absentee from yesterday's ceremony was the Jumeirah Group. The shift to Morgan's Point would have amounted to a dramatic change in their plans for Bermuda.

"They have had plenty of time to consider the possibilities for Morgan's Point and so we ask: Is Jumeirah part of the Morgan's Point plan? Have they made a formal commitment to the site?

"The Southlands-Morgan's Point switch raises disturbing questions about the way this Government plans out the future of the country, and just who is driving the show.

"The Southlands development was brought forward by enterprising entrepreneurs who decided the rewards were worth the investment risk.

"Despite the fact that public protests stopped them in their tracks, the Government has seen fit to bail them out at every stage of the process, whether through an SDO to bypass public concerns, or a new deal that more than doubles their land holdings, or an arrangement that removes their environmental risk at Morgan's Point — that developers in the 1990s were willing to take on.

"We have to ask if the Government is now going to use public assets to bail out any property developers when they get into trouble. "At the end of the day, it is the developers who have driven the Government towards the development of Morgan's Point, as opposed to the Government having a comprehensive plan that developers help to realise.

"Nothing better demonstrates the Government's backward approach to national planning than this."

The statement concluded: "The Southlands-Morgan's Point announcement underlines the importance of opposition in Bermuda today. Without it, the country would have witnessed the destruction of the Botanical Gardens for a new hospital and the destruction of Southlands for a massive, congestion-enhancing beachfront hotel. This is something all of us can celebrate."

Last night Craig Christensen, one of the three owners of Southlands, together with Brian Duperreault and Nelson Hunt, confirmed that the Jumeirah Group was still involved in plans for the five-star resort.

Mr. Christensen told The Royal Gazette: "Jumeirah is still interested in working with Southlands Ltd. However the next step is for the House of Assembly to ratify the agreement — up until this point Jumeirah and other contractors (architects, etc.) have been on hold.

"The contractors mentioned are those signed on to assist at Southlands. As the scope of the project has changed, any contractors would now have to revisit their plans."