Prompt repairs are to be carried out to a reinforcement wall beneath a South Shore cliff, which was damaged during last weekend’s hurricane.

The wall, which is at the Bermudiana Beach Resort in Warwick, sustained minor damage when Ernesto passed.

“Efforts are under way to complete these repairs promptly,” said the Ministry of Public Works.

It said an area west of the Bermudiana Beach Resort at Southlands Park, which has been proposed for an events lawn, sustained “more significant” damage during the storm.

The storm exposed the roots of invasive plants, contributing to the cliff's weakening in this section.

The ministry added: “It is worth noting that the ministry's proposal for the events lawn and parking lot included plans to remove these invasive plants and replace them with endemic species.”

It said the proposal also included the construction of a protective wall, similar to the one at Bermudiana Beach Resort, designed to safeguard the cliff from wave action.

The ministry said it believed “that the current damage might have been mitigated if the proposal had been approved when it was first submitted three years ago”.

It said the upper area would now feature a green lawn surrounded by native vegetation, offering both protection and a better look.

Plans to convert that portion of Southlands to an events lawn returned to the table in April after environmentalists opposed the proposal.

The Government said the project was “integral” for the nearby Bermudiana Beach Resort.

However, the Bermuda Audubon Society called for coastal woodland to be preserved and said that there were alternative sites that could be used for the proposed events lawn without having the same ecological impact.

The Department of Parks launched a two-week consultation process for the proposal, which was previously denied planning permission by the Development Applications Board.

The consultation was due to end on May 9 but was extended to May 17.

Last January, residents voiced concern about the drastic erosion next to the Bermudiana Beach Resort site, where the reinforcement wall, which covers soft rock at the cliff base, comes to an end.

Environmental groups and residents have warned repeatedly that the stretch of coastline posed a danger to developments on the site.

David Wingate, the former government conservation officer, said the weak limestone in that stretch of coastline meant it would fall back roughly one metre a decade – and that even rain, which can dissolve the rock, was able to bring down vulnerable sections of the cliff face.

At the time, the ministry said officials were aware of the erosion and rockfalls hitting the shoreline at the end of the protective wall, where the Southlands park begins.

A ministry spokesman said a plan was already in place to carry out work to protect and reinforce the cliff structure once assessments were completed.

He added: “This work should also include the removal of casuarina trees, which have contributed to the cliff erosion.”

The Government obtained the 38-acre Southlands estate in 2012 as part of a land swap involving 80 acres of brownfield land at Morgan’s Point.

The move was celebrated by environmentalists, who had campaigned since 2007 to protect the site from a hotel development.

It was formally declared a national park in 2017.