The Shadow Minister for the Environment restated yesterday a decades-old United Bermuda Party promise to turn the former Pembroke Dump into a public park, while another Member of Parliament laid out a set of circumstances which appear to make the promise nearly impossible to fulfil.

In a press statement, UBP MP Cole Simons said: "One should not question our unwavering commitment to turning this into a national park and showcasing it as 'Bermuda's Central Park' for Bermuda, for the City of Hamilton and for the residents of Perimeter Lane...."

He said the next UBP Government would make the park development a "top priority".

It's an especially striking pledge from Mr. Simons because his party is faulted in many circles for making the original promise, approving it through Cabinet, and then falling short on the execution.

Mr. Simons sees it differently. He places the blame elsewhere.

He said: "If the PLP Government had wanted to do anything about a Marsh Folly national park it could have set up a fund by allocating a set amount of money each year — say $2 million — to get the job done. In addition, they would have presented a national waste management plan which would outline how Bermuda was going to manage its domestic and horticultural waste for the next decade."

MP Ashfield DeVent has direct knowledge of managing the country's waste and he tends to think the parklands promise is an exceedingly difficult task, perhaps now more than any other time. Mr. DeVent grew up in the area, is the elected official for Pembroke South East, and is a former Works and Engineering Minister.

He said: "When I was Minister of Works and Engineering I asked, 'What is the plan for this park?' Because when you grow up in that area and you're a politician you get hounded about it.

"I had a chance to do something. But they said, 'Minister, where are we going to put the stuff?'"

The stuff they were referring to is horticultural waste. At that time the experts told Mr. DeVent that the Marsh Folly Horticultural Site takes in 100 tonnes of green matter everyday. It's an astounding amount for a country the size of Bermuda, but is perhaps less surprising when you consider the Island generates more garbage per capita than the United States.

Mr. DeVent also has experience with the Tynes Bay Incinerator where he says the two burning cylinders are at full tilt to keep up with the Island's garbage generation. And even if there was space at Tynes Bay, the incinerator would not be a viable alternative for horticultural waste because green materials don't burn well — which only further increases the need for Marsh Folly to remain a horticultural processing site, according to Mr. DeVent.

Those issues notwithstanding, Mr. Simons accused the PLP of inaction and was especially pointed in his criticism of MP Nelson Bascome who represents many of the Marsh Folly neighbourhoods, including Perimeter Lane.

Mr. Simons said: "As a long-time PLP Cabinet Minister, Mr. Bascome was perfectly positioned to argue the merits of a Marsh Folly national park, but it appears he was too passive in pushing the park plan forward. Mr. Bascome, who represents the area containing Marsh Folly, would prefer that people blame the UBP Government for the fact that the park has not happened. But the PLP has been in power for nearly nine years with absolutely no progress on the project."

In this newspaper yesterday the people of Perimeter Lane, the neighbourhood closest to the horticultural site, seemed to place blame equally on both parties. Over the past 20 years since the original promise each party has been in power almost the exact same number of years.

Ultimately the six Perimeter Lane residents interviewed on this topic all answered 'no' when asked if they thought the Government promised park would ever become a reality.

Mr. Simons argues it is possible with a long-term plan which includes releasing potentially dangerous subterranean gases and heat from the site.

When faced with the same question about a future park Mr. DeVent answered: "It's not as simple as that."

-Late yesterday The Royal Gazette received a detailed response from the Ministry of Works and Engineering about the future of the Marsh Folly Horticultural Site. You can read the Government's plan going forward in tomorrow's Gazette.