GOVERNMENT could face a lengthy legal battle should it give the green light for a controversial proposal to build a luxury hotel on the Southlands estate.For campaigners against the development may appeal any decision by Government to allow the project to go ahead on the grounds that it is unreasonable.

The proposal for the 300-plus suite beachfront resort, put forward by luxury hotel chain Jumeirah, has already been condemned by Government experts.

Department of Conservation officials have told Environment Minister Neletha Butterfield that they are “compelled to object to this application in the strongest possible terms” for a host of environmental reasons.

They claim the hotel presents “significant direct threats to local wildlife, impinges on several protected zones”, and is “counterproductive” to the island’s tourism industry because brownfield sites are available for development.

The plan has also received widespread disapproval among the public, with hundreds of objection letters being filed with the Department of Planning.

And opponents of the proposal could argue that, should the Minister go against the recommendations of her advisors, she may be acting unreasonably — and be in breach of common law.

Attorney Paul Woolgar said: “Wherever a Minister has a discretion in law, the common law states that this must not be exercised in an unreasonable fashion.”

Mr. Woolgar said that, should Ms Butterfield approve the development — which has the backing of Premier Ewart Brown — any appeal would be difficult to win.

But he added that, if opponents could demonstrate that the decision “is so clearly, demonstrably illogical and against the weight of evidence and principle that it simply cannot be justified,” then it could be overturned by a higher court.

“The classic definition is a decision which is so unreasonable that no reasonable authority could have arrived at it,” Mr. Woolgar said.

“It is generally considered to be a very high standard for people to meet. But the fact that the weight of public opinion is clearly against the proposed development, it is contrary to the Planning Statement, there have been numerous substantive objections to the proposed development backed-up by logical and well-reasoned grounds, and the Minister’s own advisers have come out strongly against the proposed development, tend to suggest that the objectors would have decent grounds to mount a legal challenge against the Minister if the development is permitted in its current form.

“I’m certainly not saying that they’d definitely succeed, but they’d definitely have a decent case to hang their legal hat on.”

Yesterday, campaigners were remaining tight-lipped about their strategy, but did not rule out a drawn-out legal battle. Bermuda Environmental Sustainability Taskforce spokesman Stuart Hayward would only say: “Several weeks ago we began exploratory discussions with lawyers about the possibility of judicial review.

“Obviously, the Minister’s decision in the light of expert advice, in and out of Government, would be of interest in a judicial review.”

This afternoon the organisation will be presenting a petition to Ms Butterfield objecting to the fact that the project was granted a Special Development Order.