The Bermuda flag is set to fly over Fort Victoria for the first time in decades this week as efforts to clean up the site continue.
Peter Barrett, of the St George’s Foundation, said that while more work must still be done, he was grateful to see the progress that has been made, thanks to the work of volunteers.
“It’s really a celebration of a great many people from different walks of life coming together every week to make a difference,” he said.
Mr Barrett said that the team were recently able to replace a bridge at the St George’s site after a half day of work.
“We’ve scraped out the top of the fort, we have cleaned up the moat,” he said. “You can see a real change and we have been getting great feedback from the community.”
Fort Victoria — the island’s largest fortification — was first constructed in 1842 and underwent multiple refittings until 1935, when Britain decided to retire it.
The US Navy moved into the site during the Second World War, making further modifications, but in 1944 the site was again abandoned.
The fort was later modified to house a swimming pool for the nearby Club Med Resort, with the structure’s keep completely torn down in the process, but after the hotel shut its doors in 1989, the property was left to fall into disrepair.
Last year the St George’s Foundation launched a major clean-up effort on the site with the hope of reopening it for tours later this year.