MORE than 1,400 people have signed an online petition launched this week to oppose plans to build a new hospital on the Botanical Gardens.

The petition is being run in conjunction with a paper petition and organisers have advised supporters to sign one or the other.

"There is a clear need for a new acute care hospital in Bermuda and it is possible to redevelop on the existing King Edward VII Memorial Hospital site," the petition states.

"The proposal for the new hospital to be built on 30 per cent of Bermuda's Botanical Gardens is not in keeping to Government's own Sustainable Development Strategy Plan and we want Government to preserve this national treasure intact for future generations."

One of the group behind the petition is activist Stuart Hayward, who has been delighted with the response in the petition's first four days online.

"The Premier has said that he wants to hear feedback from the public," Mr. Hayward said. "Given the signatures we are getting, the feedback is not to build on the Botanical Gardens, so I don't imagine that it will happen.

"It's pretty extraordinary that on the only Botanical Garden on the island, any kind of construction is being considered.

"But let's give credit where it's due. The Premier has said he wants to hear from the public on this, so this petition has almost been a request of the Premier."

Mr. Hayward said the development would be illegal under the Parks Act, as it stood, and that a parliamentary debate would be required to take the Botanical Gardens off the Act's schedule, for the proposed development to go forward.

But he was confident the strong public opposition meant it would never get that far.

To access the petition, log on to http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/719245083.