Foundation stone for Mellieħa park

Mellieħa residents will have a new outdoor oasis by year's end following a change in the development plan of an area earmarked for afforestation.

Afforestation efforts still form part of the plans for the new €630,000 park at Selmun in an area that is now disused.

Mellieħa local council members recently voted unanimously to change the plans to incorporate a park, which will be open to all, as well as a conservation area.

It will feature a multipurpose court, a 200-metre running track, a cycling track, a skate park and a garden and is intended to "help with sports activities" in the north of the island.

Its foundation stone was laid yesterday by Rural Affairs Minister George Pullicino and Mellieħa mayor Robert Cutajar.

More than 300 indigenous trees will be planted in a bid to further Mellieħa's afforestation efforts. Abundant use of rubble walls will be made in order to avoid using quarried limestone.

The park will primarily be funded by Mellieħa local council. However, there will also be the input of the Rural Affairs Ministry. Ministry workers will help build the park.

Mr Cutajar said: "The park is being developed in a rural zone, so we felt it essential to retain a rural feel to it."

The project, he added, fitted in perfectly with the council's vision of improving the town's environment and raising awareness regarding its cultural heritage.