The Marsascala council said on Thursday it reserved the right to not agree with the chosen project in the Marsascala Regeneration Design Contest if the majority of its councillors did not agree with the choice.

The contest, launched in May by the Malta Tourism Authority to entice ideas as to how the locality can be made more attractive to visitors, has been criticised as a “sham” by residents.

The residents said they feared the contest had been conceived to benefit businessmen rather than locals. After demanding an immediate halt to the contest in June, they recently joined forces with local councillors writing to Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo, Prime Minister Robert Abela and Environment Minister Aaron Farrugia. 

The council said in a statement on Thursday that although it had agreed with the principle of a contest, this should have included all the coast and not just Triq ix-Xatt and part of Triq is-Salini.

IT also called for a consultation period giving residents the chance to express opinions.

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