The Salvation Army is still pressing for a new drug rehabilitation centre after scrapping proposals for a clinic on the old US Naval Base.

Army chiefs called off proposals for the centre at Southside, St. David's, after negotiations stalled with the Bermuda Land Development Company.

The talks were called off when the Salvation Army realised the centre would cost too much money.

But Divisional Commander Major Alfred Richardson said the search was still on for a new clinic.

He said the original plan was to move the Army's Harbour Light facility to St.

David's and shift the after-care facilities to the King Street building in Hamilton.

"Now we are still looking for a facility for after-care and our Harbour Light facility will stay where it is,'' he added.

"It's a day-programme at the moment which runs out of Hamilton Citadel.

"But we are looking for a residential complex for a 24-hour operation.

"We want the guys who finish treatment to go into a residential setting, allowing them to ease back into society.'' But Major Richardson denied it was a wave of public protest which forced the Salvation Army to think again about the Southside location.

"It's not like there were all kinds of protests for months and months and months,'' he said.

"It was economically unviable for us. We couldn't swing the dollars.

"By the time the building was renovated, it was going to cost us even more dollars, then we had to find capital dollars to furnish the place.

"It was going to take all of our money.'' The Divisional Commander declined to say how much the clinic would cost, adding the negotiations with the BLDC were "private''.

Carl Musson, BLDC's chief executive officer, told The Royal Gazette that talks were also called off with US-based Bioferm, who wanted to build a compost plant on the old base.

He added: "We are no longer negotiating with Bioferm and I will not give an official reason because they were confidential negotiations.

"We are no longer in negotiations with the Salvation Army either. We were unable to reach agreement and we cannot comment on the specifics.

"But we have probably had negotiations with several people that have not come to fruition and I think it would be incorrect to say this is because of public fears.

"The public did have fears but we do encourage proposed developers to make presentations to local residents.'' St. George's South MP Rick Spurling fought against the composting proposals after being contacted by a group of worried residents. BLDC is negotiating with a range of developers to pump millions of dollars into the 30-year regeneration project at Southside.

Other plans, unveiled in October, include building container docks, an enterprise park and leasing former officers' quarters as houses.

CHURCH CHU