Response to Government’s announcement of the approval of an SDO for the Southlands development

Members of the Bermuda Environmental and Sustainability Taskforce (BEST) are outraged at the approval of a Special Development Order (SDO) for the Southlands development project. In March of 2007, Minister of the Environment Neletha Butterfield, made public a draft of the SDO and invited consultation – an action for which she deserved and received credit. The draft SDO was soundly discredited by planning, architectural and environmental experts. In addition, in the short period of time that was allowed for objection, thousands of island residents signed a petition against the SDO and hundreds marched in protest and sent letters of objection to both Minister Butterfield and Premier Brown.

What has followed is inexcusable. To the best of our knowledge, prior to today’s broadcast, neither the Minister, nor any member of her staff, have responded to these objections which leaves us to believe that her request for feedback from her own advisors and the Bermuda electorate was not genuine. Where were the next stages of consultation? Whether the views of objectors, including those of a myriad of building and environmental experts were even considered is unknown.

With the granting of this SDO, Minister Butterfield has thrown the principles of legitimate consultation out the window. Worse still, she has effectively trampled on Government’s own Sustainable Development Initiative as well as the principles of the Environmental Charter this Government signed. Every expectation of good governance and accountability has been extinguished. BEST is saddened by the further weakening of the Sustainable Development Roundtable (SDR) through the resignation of Erica Smith. This does not bode well for the future of the SDR and speaks volumes of the Government’s lack of buy-in for sustainable development.

Historically, the Government in power has issued, on average, two or three SDOs per year. The Southlands SDO is the fifth SDO issued in a 12 month period and will undoubtedly be followed by a sixth which will grant permission to build the nine-storey housing complex in Warwick proposed to house Jumeirah Southlands staff.

Members of BEST, and many other like-minded organizations and individuals, are deeply concerned about the issuance of an SDO for the Southlands development and are determined to continue opposition to Southlands and support of the tenets of sustainable development. We urge all island residents to make their voices heard on this issue.