Decision to allow development on Żurrieq fields challenged in court
NGO calls for policy change on local plans
Residents and farmers have launched judicial proceedings over a Planning Authority decision to rezone 11,500 sqm of agricultural land for private development at Nigret, Żurrieq.
NGO Il-Kollettiv and the Żurrieq Residents' Group said proceedings have been started against the Minister for Planning and the Attorney General.
Planning application, PC/00049/19, presented by developer James Barbara and signed by former PN Planning Minister George Pullicino, aims to turn the “rationalisation zone” into an area which can be developed as residences.
Zurrieq Residents and Il-Kollettiv had declared their opposition to the project when the application was first presented in 2023. Following the PA's decision, they led a crowdfunding campaign to challenge this decision.
“As promised two years ago, together with Residenti taz-Zurrieq, we shall continue to oppose this development by any means possible, but we also reiterate the need for change at policy level," Il-Kollettiv Secretary Wayne Flask said.
The local plans for the area, which will see Zurrieq and the surrounding region transformed into a single mass of residential zones, are not only outdated but written purposely to favour speculation in the area, he said.
Matthew Borg, who heads Residenti taż-Żurrieq, said the people of Żurrieq were united in opposing such excessive construction that was destroying the town.
“This is one of many other applications in Nigret, and the same is happening in other parts of Żurrieq. It’s an open secret that the Local Plans written 20 years ago are damaging Żurrieq and the neighbouring region.”