An environmental watchdog set up to protect parkland from overdevelopment is still out of action, more than a year after being disbanded by the Government.

The National Parks Commission was established to review planning applications and ensure that developers do not encroach on protected green space.

Lieutenant-Colonel David Burch, the Minister of Public Works, abolished the statutory body in December 2022, claiming that its members were acting outside their remit.

Colonel Burch wrote to committee members that he would be “making modifications and administrative changes in the first quarter of 2023” and that he was taking the commission “in a new direction”.

In a second letter to the Bermuda Audubon Society in February 2023, the minister said: “The Parks Commission has been acting outside of that legislation, and in spite of ministry attempts to get them to operate within the law, there has been no progress.

“As such, there is a need for legislative change, which we are advancing, and there will be no appointment of a commission until that process is completed.“

NPC members have maintained that any planning approvals affecting parkland are invalid without oversight from the commission, whose 11 members include representatives from the National Trust, the Audubon Society, the National Museum of Bermuda, the Bermuda Zoological Society and the Bermuda Tourism Authority.

In November, Walter Roban, the Minister of Home Affairs, approved a request from the Bermuda Housing Corporation to build an events lawn at Southlands National Park despite objections from environmental groups. Mr Roban’s decision overturned an earlier ruling by the Development Applications Board that the project would be “highly detrimental to the natural and visual quality of the Woodland Reserve Conservation Area”.

Karen Border, the executive director of the Bermuda National Trust, expressed concern at the lack of action by the Government and said that legal action had been taken to have the commission reinstated.

Ms Border said: “At the end of August 2023, in partnership with the Bermuda Audubon Society, we contacted minister Burch for an update on the plans for the NPC, but received no response.

“In October, we informed the Attorney-General’s office of our intent to apply for a judicial review of the Government’s failure to reappoint the commission. Charitable organisations such as ours should not have to threaten the Government with legal action to enforce the appointment of a statutory body, but we felt that we had no alternative.

“The Attorney-General’s office advised us in early November 2023 that ‘the process for the selection of the members of the National Parks Commission is currently under way’. We were invited to nominate our appointee, and both organisations did so. We have heard nothing since.

“The Bermuda National Trust believes that the NPC performs a very valuable advisory function, bringing to the table a diverse group of people with environmental expertise, open-space management expertise, tourism expertise and those representing park users, who together seek to ensure that our national parks are well managed and used in a manner that balances environmental needs, community needs and tourism needs.

“A key element of a healthy democracy is the provision of arenas, like the National Parks Commission, through which Government can seek the advice of individuals or organisations with specialist expertise and independent perspectives.

“A healthy democracy also requires the willingness of Government to listen to those who have been invited to give input, even when that input might not be what they want to hear.”

In a statement, a government spokeswoman said: “Recruitment and appointments to the National Parks Commission are under way.

“Nominations have been requested of those bodies required to be represented on the commission under the Act. To date, only one body has responded. Other potential members are being interviewed. As is the case with all the ministry boards, we are going through a similar process and the commission will be gazetted once that process is concluded.

“It should be noted that Section 10 of the Bermuda National Parks Act 1986 makes it clear that the ‘primary function of the commission shall be to advise the Minister of Public Works’ and as such there are no ‘functions or authority granted to the commission under the law’.”

She added: “Upon research of the National Parks Act and its definition of responsibilities of the National Parks Commission, there is no need for legislative amendments at this time.”

The Bermuda Audubon Society disputed those claims.

A spokeswoman said yesterday that she “knew for sure” that the society as well as the BNT had submitted nominees for the commission.

She said: “The e-mail from the Bermuda Audubon Society with our response was initially ‘quarantined’ by the government e-mail system so maybe there is a problem there with them receiving the responses.

“Our lawyers have sent a letter to the Attorney-General’s Chambers asking for an update on the appointment of the Parks Commission and a response by January 31. We have received no response as of this time.”

The spokeswoman added that although the commission had no authority to block planning applications relating to parkland, it still played a “crucial” role — and that the Government was breaching planning laws by not having a commission in place.

She said: “ Although the National Parks Commission serves an advisory role to the minister, this does not diminish its value and importance. The constitution of the commission as well as its functions and responsibilities are clearly laid out in the National Parks Act 1986.

“Failure to appoint the commission is in contravention to the provisions of the law. Requiring consultation with this advisory body provides an important layer of accountability to the administration of our national parks and the national parks system.

“Clearly those who enacted the national parks legislation felt that the Parks Commission were to play a critical role in guiding the management of our national parks.

“The National Parks Commission also has a role in the review of planning applications. The Bermuda Plan requires that the commission be consulted on applications in all parks and nature reserves in our national parks system. This has not occurred for any applications in these areas over the past year.”

Letter to the Editor