High-rise buildings outside Hamilton are an inevitable consideration as Bermuda tackles the demands of its growing population, according to Environment Minister Glenn Blakeney.

The Minister says the Bermuda Plan 2008 aims to reduce saturation in and around the capital and share some of the traffic burden with the rest of the Island.

Mr. Blakeney was reacting to criticism from environment campaigners BEST, who claimed people hadn't had enough time to digest the plan's repercussions before it was put before the legislature.

The plan was adopted by the Senate yesterday, despite BEST chairman Stuart Hayward's call for the Upper House to reject it.

Mr. Hayward had warned the proposal allows for clusters of multi-storey commercial and residential buildings outside the city — suggesting many people would be against such an idea.

But Mr. Blakeney dismissed the environmentalist's complaints as "hogwash", explaining: "Any sensible advocate would obviously accept that, with such limited land mass and the near saturation of the city, the way forward would be consideration and responsible planning options.

"This includes development that goes up since we cannot absorb development designed to build out. Hence, subject to planning approval there's the potential for multi-storey development beyond the city limits."

Mr. Hayward had also expressed fears of widespread traffic problems because the plan encourages pockets of concentrated commerce outside the city.

But Mr. Blakeney said: "The concentrated pocket of commerce that should be of the greatest concern is Bermuda's capital, the City of Hamilton.

"There is no greater traffic congestion, especially during peak morning and afternoon hours, that result in bottleneck gridlock on every major artery into and out of the city pending the time of day.

"So I would have thought any commitment to alleviating that experience would be welcomed in consideration of the daily frustration suffered by those commuting on public roads to and from work."

Mr. Hayward complained the plan does not begin to address Bermuda's "carrying capacity": the number of people the Island can accommodate without losing its unique sense of place. He said instead it tries to satisfy the demand for urbanisation.

Mr. Blakeney argued the plan aims to promote working, living and recreation by embracing sustainable growth and providing mixed-use centres in Dockyard, Southside and St. George's.

"It is not about the desires of urbanisation, but indeed the practicality of sustainable urban solutions unique to Bermuda's limited land mass," he said.

And responding to Mr. Hayward's frustration at the continued potential for Ministers to override the usual rules with Sustainable Development Orders, the Minister said: "There's a rationale for SDOs given particularly special circumstances, which has been a policy option long before the current Government was elected."

Mr. Blakeney described the plan as a policy document which provides a framework for decision-making.

"The plan offers direction and structure for environmental impact assessment and each application is evaluated on its merit," he said. "Any negative concern is mitigated through appropriate conditions and measures."

• See a full report from the Senate on the Bermuda Plan on page 6.