The Minister of Public Works accused the Bermuda Audubon Society of breaching confidentiality regarding a potential return of motocross to Coney Island.

Lieutenant-Colonel David Burch said in a statement that the National Parks Commission, which includes a representative from the BAS, had been invited to consider a motocross event to take place at the St George’s site in January.

However, after the BAS raised concerns about the plans publicly, the minister suggested he was reconsidering the appointment of the charity’s representative on the commission.

Colonel Burch said: “The Audubon Society, who is represented on the commission and was part of this process, indicated their view that this event should not be approved.

“That is a proper exercise of their voice and expression of their views on the commission.

“However, the collegiality of such public bodies is seriously injured when one party uses their position to further their narrow aims in the public domain.

“Members of the commission are provided with confidential information to facilitate their deliberations, and fairness and best practice dictates that public confidence in the process is not betrayed in this way.”

The charity, however, denied the allegation, stating that it had responded to information they had received from a reporter, who had been contacted by a member of the public about excavation work at Coney Island.

It said: “Our written comments to the press addressed the legal requirements for approval of such an event and the negative impacts of re-establishing a motocross racetrack on the habitat and scenic beauty of Coney Island Park, as well as the negative impact on other uses of the park.

“No mention was made of the deliberations of the park commission. We do not see any breach of confidentiality.”

The Audubon Society said in a statement last week that planning regulations for the one-off event may have been breached after bulldozers moved in to construct a track for the high-speed bikes.

According to planning documents, a submission to build a temporary track was made to the Department of Planning by an unidentified entity on September 4, but was withdrawn two days later.

The charity raised concern about the proposal and said that the site is a prime birding habitat and would take some time to return to a natural state, reported by The Royal Gazette on Monday.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Colonel Burch said that as minister he has sought to support young people and their initiatives.

“When this proposal was first presented, I felt it deserved thorough exploration, at the very least, and I met with the proponents to seek answers to the three queries which constituted the commission's advice to me,” he explained.

“The organiser had taken their comments to heart and had gone away and secured satisfactory answers to them.

“I gave conditional approval so that they could seek advice and support from other stakeholders.

“Overnight, I have further researched the matter and confirmed that having consulted the Department of Planning twice, the organisers have been informed that planning permission is not required for this event.”

Colonel Burch said that he had not made a final decision on the application, but added: “Considering the breach of confidentiality by the member representing the BAS, I would expect that, at a minimum, they will apologise to the organiser for the unwarranted harm they have caused to his business venture.

“In the interim, I will be considering the authority provided to me under the Bermuda National Parks Act, 1986 with respect to the continuing appointment of the Audubon Society representative.”

The BAS, however, denied that it had broken confidentiality, and said that the comments were unrelated to any meetings of the park commission.

A spokeswoman for the charity said that on September 20, they were contacted by a reporter to comment on information received by a member of the public that excavation work had started on Coney Island to build a motocross track on the site.

“This was the first we had known about this activity,” the spokeswoman said. “Two members of the Audubon Society went to Coney Island to discover that the heavy machinery had been removed.

“We were later told by another member of the public that the work at Coney Island was for a motocross event that had been approved by the minister.”

The spokeswoman said the Department of Planning was informed and had expressed concern that unauthorised work had been carried out, stating that they would “get right on it”.

The charity also noted a statement from the Ministry of Public Works, which stated that owing to a “miscommunication” the contractor was given permission to start excavation work but “it later emerged that planning approval was required for the project”.

The charity commended Colonel Burch for his desire to support young people, but said such activities should be conducted in the appropriate places at the appropriate times.

“As the Minister of Public Works, he oversees our national parks system,” the spokeswoman added.

“As custodian of these public, open spaces, he has a responsibility to ensure that they are appropriately managed for the short and long-term benefit of all of Bermuda.

“The National Parks Act has rules and procedures that help to ensure that this occurs and they must be followed.

“We need to respect, protect and preserve the limited public green spaces that we have left in Bermuda for the wellbeing of our community and the health of our environment.”