Large developments that will leave a disproportionate impact on residents of surrounding areas should require the approval of those very same residents, ADPD chairperson, Sandra Gauci, argued.
“We cannot rely on the authorities to protect our rights as citizens who have the right to live in peace in our homes” the Green Party Chairperson stressed addressing the press outside the former Mistra Village in Xemxija where works on a massive development are underway.
Residents in this neighbourhood have been suffering for months from noise and dust plumes at all times of the day, even though excavation works in the area should not be allowed in the summer months, experiencing a deterioration in quality of life.
Excavation works at former Mistra village development site. Video: ADPD
This is a typical example of how the authorities are prioritising the interests of those with power and money over those of society and the common citizens, said Carmel Cacopardo ADPD deputy chairperson.
The current permit for this site was renewed in February 2019 although works had not commenced by then, which according to planning law would have necessitated the reconsideration of the permit to take into consideration new policies in force since the original permit was granted.
A court of appeal last May confirmed this and declared that the submission of a commencement notice was alone not sufficient to satisfy the rules on the renewal of development permits.
The court decision instead of stalling works however triggered a “frenzy of excavation work” which is causing great damage to the health of residents as the developer seeks to "bend the rules" to renew the development permit, ADPD said.
The Green Party lamented the lack of monitoring of excessive noise and dust being generated.
No works should be carried out on sites for which a planning appeal has been submitted, the party insisted.
Sandra Gauci also stressed there should be a moratorium [a suspension] on large projects stating these were not necessary, citing the latest census which found that many properties were empty.
The study found that 36.3 per cent of properties in this very locality, St. Paul’s Bay, were empty or barely used, making it the area with the largest number of unused places in the Island.
The planning authority should practice what it preaches and “make Malta and Gozo a more pleasant and desirable place to live in” as it promises to do in its mission and vision statement, the party said.
“There is a need for the authorities to really protect the common good and for the residents to be listened to as an important part of the planning process for such massive developments,” they concluded.
