Dear Sir,

The Honourable Lieutenant-Colonel David Burch apparently didn’t get the memo. The Progressive Labour Party has the greatest chance in history to bring our communities together. You are not going to do it by telling those communities that they do not have a voice.

I am sure the residents of Warwick would not appreciate being told that because they live west of the airport, their opinion on the airport redevelopment is less important.

Let’s get real here: Bermuda is a very small nation, has very limited land and certainly we are all neighbours, regardless where we live on the island.

Let me highlight to the minister what happens here: once ATVs are approved in one part of the island, he can expect applications for other parts of the island. Jet skis are not just limited to the Great Sound. If you note, they are everywhere.

The folks down by Ferry Reach can expect ATVs to be next in their neighbourhood. So, telling communities they don’t have a say or less of a say is not quite right.

Mr Burch, you did ask for “community comment”. I don’t recall that only residents west of White Hill may respond.

This is also not about saying “no” first and asking questions later. This is about the health of very precious areas that have been reserved and preserved for today’s and future generations to benefit.

Hog Bay Park is farmland. It is land that produces food for our population. You are not going to reduce the cost of groceries by eradicating local farming, which are grown right here in our backyard.

There is a little insect called a bee, which pollinates those crops and promotes crop production. Nature has a very harsh way of letting us humans know when what we are doing is wrong.

These bees don’t like the fumes and noise from constant disruption. They are already stressed from recent hurricanes, lack of fiddlewood flowers in the park and other human climate-driven issues.

There are also countless birds that nest and reside in the park. If this is about taking our visitors on a nature ride, there will not be much nature left.

Let’s find a way to make the ATV proposal work, but maybe not in our precious parks and farmlands.

Can’t they ride, park and hike? If it is about the thrill of riding up and down hills, then it’s less about nature and history. If that is what the client wants, then let’s find one of our many brown sites and develop an ATV track where they can knock themselves silly going up and down dirt hills.

The bees won’t mind that.

ADAM H. LESEUR

West of White Hill and Hog Bay Park resident