BEST is going to court again – this time to assist the government in protecting one of the largest farm plots on the island from having a major roadway built to run right through the middle of the field. The developer is Morgan’s Point Limited (MPL) and BEST is opposing the roadway for what we think are very good reasons:
The issue for BEST is that, despite gaining a better than 2:1 swap of freehold (Southlands), plus a lease of 128 acres for 262 years, which includes 15.5 acres of waterfront, MPL is fighting to build a major roadway through the middle of farmland outside their border. This development has been opposed and/or rejected by:
The Development Applications Board (DAB)
The Department of Planning (DOP)
The Board of Agriculture (BOA)
The Bermuda National Trust (BNT)
The Bermuda Environmental Sustainability Taskforce (BEST)
The Bermuda Farmers’ Association (BFA)
1 Independent Inspector
1 Government Minister
Despite the extended series of rejections to their plan, MPL repeatedly appealed the decisions or renewed their proposal until the last Minister finally went along and overturned the DAB decision. The threat to the agricultural plot goes against government’s own 2016 Crop Strategy1 and against a report on the Role of Agriculture in Bermuda’s Future2 produced in 2010 for the Environmental Coalition (ECO).
Read more here: Morgan’s Point