The Kalkara local council has filed an objection to plans filed by Transport Malta to extend the marina in the locality.

Councillors, which are a majority Labour, want the Planning Authority to reject the proposal. 

The project will see a number of new moorings installed at the bay, ranging from 4.5 metres to 6 metres in width. Some 334 berths are envisaged to take up the remaining unoccupied space in the creek. 

The planning application is being fronted by Transport Malta's chief operations officer, Kevin Farrugia. 

On Monday, NGO Moviment Graffitti flagged the application for the marina plans, warning that the increased number of berths would effectively take up the whole creek and urging the public to object to the proposal.  

Despite its PA application acknowledging that the project is inspired by the "need for additional mooring locations",  Transport Malta has publicly denied that it is seeking to extend the marina. 

Its intention, it said earlier this week, is to better organise existing berths in the area. 

Labour council's objections

That explanation has not eased concerns within Kalkara's Labour-led council, however. 

In a lengthy representation, the council said that while it did not object to the regulation of existing berths, the application in question would increase the take-up of public spaces around the coast of the village. 

Stressing that the council has been promised in 2019 that the marina would not be extended, the council said that the site falls within an archaeologically sensitive area and previous investigations of the area had yielded archaeological discoveries. 

The proposal ran counter to planning policies that say coastal recreational resources should be protected and enhanced for the benefit of the public, they said. 

“The proposal as depicted in the application is not a long-term solution and will result in a loss of quality of life of residents and tourists visiting the village,” the council said.

“The increase in mooring will add to the already existing congestion for boat residents and boat owners to park in the area. Also, further production of waste from the boat users will add more challenges to the existing infrastructure taking care of the promenade.”

The project would also endanger the existing ecology of the area as well as decrease accessibility for boat owners, they added. 

“No public consultation was carried out, to discuss the proposal with the local council and the existing residence, together with mooring owners, currently using the area. Therefore, for the above reasons, we strongly object to this proposal and kindly ask the Planning Authority to refuse this application.”

In 2019, former transport minister Ian Borg said that the Kalkara marina wouldn’t be extended by “a single centimetre” following backlash at similar plans to increase mooring in the creek. 

The Nationalist Party has called on Transport Malta to indicate clearly the area where moorings would be reorganised and to show whether the current marina footprint would increase.