News of progress on a new Morgan's Point hotel could well be greeted with cries of "I'll believe it when I see it" across the Island.

Local MP Randy Horton, for one, can understand people's frustration as talks on the former US Naval Annex have seemingly come to nothing.

He's watched along with residents as a once-attractive area has become badly overgrown, a 240-acre no-go zone lying derelict while buildings have increasingly been crammed into the rest of Bermuda's 21 square miles. Yesterday, the Southampton West MP said he hoped development at Morgan's Point can finally be sparked with a long-awaited land swap deal now expected before the House of Assembly within two weeks.

If the new hotel and golf complex does eventually go ahead, it will be some 12 years after plans for a Jack Nicklaus signature golf course bit the dust. Asked whether "I've heard all that before," would be the first words on many residents' lips at today's news, Mr. Horton told The Royal Gazette: "They just might."

He continued: "And it's not just here, it's about hotel developments in Bermuda generally. We will be taking the next step. But there's no question people will say that.

"Nothing has happened over the years here. One part of it is the clean-up that's necessary."

Driving through Southampton along Middle Road, it's easy to forget Morgan's Point is even there. Tucked away in the distance behind Dalton Tucker Primary School and fenced off by Bermuda Land Development Company, the former baseland is now used by Correia Construction for storing rubble but, it appears, very little else.

Giving this newspaper a tour of the base, Mr. Horton pointed to old buildings that once supported a buzzing military community before the Americans left 15 years ago, and acres upon acres of open space and wasteland.

One of the properties, a gym where Mr. Horton used to play basketball, still has pitch markings on the floor, although the building itself is in a dire state of disrepair. Rotting nearby is an old church and military housing complex.

In the middle of the road is a divider which was the first of its kind in Bermuda and, according to Mr. Horton, made you feel like you were in America when you drove alongside it. "It was all kept very well. It was beautiful. The Americans didn't want anything that was second rate. When you were down here, you were on a wonderful highway," recalled Mr. Horton.

Not any more. Decay, long grass and weeds have turned the place into an eyesore. Mr. Horton believes Morgan's Point is big enough to host a park and low-cost housing scheme as well as the planned hotel project.

"What's important to me is that there is an opportunity for Bermudians to be able to use the facility out here," he said.

The biggest stumbling block to development has been the mess left behind when the Americans departed in the 1990s.

Bills of up to $65 million have been estimated to remove materials such as asbestos, jet fuel, paint, oil and batteries from Morgan's Point and the other base land at Kindley Air Force Base. Bassett's Cave alone is said to still contain thousands of gallons of viscous oil and sludge.

The US paid an $11 million settlement a few years after leaving, and Premier Ewart Brown has often spoken of his efforts to keep discussions alive with the Americans.

Many believe a more realistic solution is to kill two birds with one stone by getting investors to clean it up as part of a tourism development; the Jack Nicklaus project had intended to do just that. Southlands Ltd., the team behind the current proposal, has already indicated it would consider cleaning up the pollution if asked. Mr. Horton said yesterday: "That's something that would have to be discussed. These developers have said they would assist if it would help the deal go through."

Morgan's Point isn't the only piece of wasted land in Constituency 32. Tudor Hill, more out-of-bounds BLDC land, is an ideal location for an urgent care centre, according to Mr. Horton.

Right now, it's used for storage, but he believes it would be better served fulfilling a long-time promise put on the back burner due to funds shortages.

"I think an urgent care centre is needed here in the West End for people living this way," said the backbencher. "We have plenty of space to put it."

The renovation of the plush Port Royal Golf Course is largely considered a success, although it's not been without its issues for the locals.

Some have complained about noise from the property's desalination plant, and a compromise was recently reached so the machine is switched off at night. Mr. Horton would like a cover put in place to drown out the din once and for all. Even without the noise, living next door to a golf course isn't everyone's cup of tea: every time Mr. Horton canvassed the area until recently, one disgruntled neighbour would regularly drag out a big barrel full of golf balls smashed into his garden by out-of-form amateurs.

The redesign of the course has taken into account the man's concerns; since its spruce-up his complaints have ceased. Elsewhere, Mr. Horton is pushing for traffic lights at a multiple Middle Road junction next to the gas station near Dalton Tucker school. Warning lights have been installed, but Mr. Horton is hoping something more can be introduced to control the flow of traffic at rush hour.

A recently resurfaced basketball court off Middle Road gives young people somewhere to get exercise, while Mr. Horton is pushing for minor improvements, such as toilets and benches, to popular areas such as West Whale Bay. One change he oversaw during his time as Education Minister was the renaming of Southampton Glebe to Dalton Tucker, after the well-known former educator, as part of a drive to encourage greater pride in Bermuda's history.

Mr. Horton, a former head teacher himself, believes the education system is at last starting to move in the right direction after a tumultuous few years.

"I feel very, very proud of the fact that I was the Minister who commissioned the Hopkins Report which I think came up with significant recommendations for the improvement of our schools system," he said. "Obviously I was saddened that I couldn't continue with the job, but I'm glad to see that progress is being made."

He named the move to make people working in education more accountable for their performance as something that should produce better results in the long-term.