ADPD on Saturday called for the urgent revision of local plans.
Members of the party were addressing a press conference in Xemxija, where a development is being proposed in addition to a project to be built on the former Mistra Village site. Both developments, they said, will be of great harm to the quality of life of residents in the locality.
Secretary general Ralph Cassar said that the infrastructure of the zone earmarked for these two developments cannot take on a 13-storey high building:
“This will literally choke the residents and will contribute to increased traffic congestion and poor air quality.
"Why should residents suffer for the benefit of a single developer? The quality of life of the Xemxija residents will certainly go down whilst fattening the pockets of the few," he said.
Cassar said that when such towers are proposed in highly populated zones, impact assessments for such developments are not conducted.
"This is the type of arrogance typical of the sector, taking what belongs to all, in this case taking away our history and claiming it for their own as if this is their divine right."
Cassar also referred to the loss of the biodiversity in the area.
“How can the government say that they want to green the country and set up entities like Project Green and Ambjent Malta only to fail to look after what is already there? What coherence and credibility does the government have in terms of the environment?” asked Cassar.
He said that the identity of entire villages is being changed and destroyed by towers that make no sense in a country where there were a considerable number of empty houses, which young people still cannot buy because prices were beyond their means.
Chairperson Sandra Gauci said that in spite of the Jean Paul Sofia inquiry results, it seemed that everything continued as normal and the arrogance was stronger than ever, digging on the only open space that the residents of Xemxija had left: a place with cart ruts and historical Roman baths.
She said that the Planning Authority bore a large part of the blame for the devastation of the country because it has lost its authority, becoming a bureaucratic rubber stamp that one went through with as little hindrance as possible.
"The Planning Authority is forgetting its duties towards the citizens who seem to be treated as a nuisance to megalomaniacs who want their dreams of towers become a reality.
We at ADPD has been vocal on the issue and have time and time again insisted that the local plans should be updated for today's times, including the cancellation of the rationalisation plans for once and for all," she said.
Gauci asked:
"Can we continue to sacrifice entire villages, our mental health and our quality of life for a handful of people? The citizens should show their indignation for what is being done in every village."