Updated 10.45am with Momentum statement

Mellieħa residents occupied a construction site on Saturday morning to protest works that will turn an open space into a mega block.

Holding a sign reading "Save Malta", Mellieha mayor Gabriel Micallef and his deputy Matthew Borg Cushcieri led dozens of residents to the 4,000 square metre space where works to remove soil and grass have already begun.

The Mellieħa Heights site, controversially handed over by the government to private developers, will eventually see the construction of 109 apartments and 171 basement garages.

On Saturday, protestors called on the government and, specifically, Prime Minister Robert Abela to revoke the agreement and give the land back to the people.

"The site should be developed in a way that can be enjoyed by residents and become a green lung for the people", Olivia Gauci, a resident who lives in the area, said.

It should be given back to the people of Mellieħa, she said at the protest organised by NGO Il-Kollettiv.

Gauci asked why Abela had not stopped the land transfer when he often talks about improving people's quality of life.

"You (Abela) are selling our peace of mind to someone who definitely does not need more money," she said.

Julian Grech, also a Mellieħa resident, said people should be enjoying the area, walking their dogs or enjoying their free time.

But development took it over instead, he said.

 "We are trying to safeguard what should be ours by right. Even if we are not successful, we are standing up and being counted," he said.

Momentum endorse protest

Member of Momentum, the new political party led by Arnold Cassola, also attended the event. 

In a statement, Momentum said it endorsed residents' action. 

Cassola said the way in which land was given away to private developers "follows the same pattern as the public land deals in Pembroke and Qajjenza and flies into the face of the government's empty talk glorifying the creation of green open spaces".

Momentum treasurer Carmel Asciak, who is also a Mellieħa resident, said the area was one of the town's last green lungs

"How can we believe Robert Abela when he says that he is against public land being sold to private developers, if he declines to stop this destruction?" he asked. 

Plans for the Mellieħa Heights plot have been controversial from the start.

The government sold the plot, with an estimated market value of over €12m, to the developers on a 50-year perpetual revisable emphyteusis against an annual payment of €380,000.

Addressing the crowd, Mellieħa deputy mayor Matthew Borg Cuschcieri questioned why the land was handed over at such a low price.

"With that amount, you cannot even buy a flat in Mellieħa nowadays," he said.

"No one will benefit from this deal except for (developer) Paul Attard," he said.

The placards held by the residents gathered at the protest shared a similar message: "Is our value less than €380,000 ground rent a year," one sign read.

Mellieħa mayor Gabriel Micallef said that the local council was fighting on behalf of the residents over the issue, saying that the council have appealed the Planning Authority's decision to grant permission for the project.

Micallef also questioned the speed at which the plans were approved last November.

"It only took two months for the PA to approve the plans, and in the hearing, their deliberations took 20 seconds," he said.

Residents and Il-Kollettiv have also asked the Auditor General to investigate the controversial land transfer.

Wayne Flask of the residents' rights NGO said the land transfer deal is opaque.

"I have no doubt that this deal is a devilish pact between the developer and authorities," he said.

Chair of Momentum Arnold Cassola and constituent PN MPs Ivan Castillo and Robert Cutajar were also at the protest.