Updated 5pm

Most of the trees slated for uprooting during widening works of the Marsalforn Valley road have been saved, following five years of discussions with the authorities, Din l-Art Ħelwa said on Thursday. 

The number of trees on the stretch of road between Victoria and Marsalforn will also double as the government plans to plant an additional 300 mature trees.

The project, covered by permit PA/03000/19, includes the widening of the arterial road and the development of another road that will serve to bypass traffic away from Victoria’s centre.

The original plans indicated that some 200 mature trees would be uprooted and 10,692 square metres of agricultural and other land would be gobbled up.

On Thursday, the NGO said that following a five-year "struggle", there have been "significant" improvements to the original plans.

There are a total of 314 mature trees on that stretch of road.

While previously 183 trees were set to be uprooted, only 13 mature trees will be lost, meaning that in all, 202 mature trees will be left untouched and 86 trees will be transplanted back on the site.

There will be a tentative uprooting and replanting of the remaining 13 mature trees - however, the likelihood of the survival of these eucalyptus trees is minimal.

The two centre strips, characterised by rows of trees along the road, will now be retained.

Meanwhile, out of a total of 390 low-lying shrubs, 259 will remain undisturbed, five shrubs deemed to be of a rare species will be transplanted while 131 deemed to be common and easier to replace, will be uprooted.

DLĦ also said the development will see a reduction in the total area that will be covered by the new road: while the area will still increase by 5,567 square metres to 41,894, some 5,175 square metres of expropriated land, previously destined to be surfaced, will now be retained in its natural state and planted with new mature trees.

Only 393 square metres of agricultural land will be absorbed into the new road, the NGO added.

This outcome is the result of five years of meetings that Din l-Art Ħelwa Għawdex and Din l-Art Ħelwa had with the Gozo Ministry in a concerted effort to protect the valley, the NGO said.

The Gozo ministry,  DLĦ said, has agreed to a system of numbering and colour coding all existing mature trees on the road indicating which ones will remain undisturbed, which will be transplanted and which will be uprooted.

This exercise will be conducted with ERA. 

DLĦ clarified it had not objected to the proposed bypass from Triq Fortunato Mizzi to Marsalforn Road (from Triq Ġorġ Pisani through Triq Patri Ċaċintu Camenzuli) as the NGO recognised the need to reduce traffic in central Victoria. 

However, DLĦ insisted all that was required was the resurfacing of the existing road and the removal of two or three potential danger spots.

"The focus of DLĦ’s concern was the agricultural land to be paved over, the uprooting and destruction of trees, potential damage to water courses and the potential degrading of one of the most scenic and picturesque of Gozo’s valleys and countryside," the NGO said.

"It therefore engaged in talks to strongly argue for the least possible environmental damage and uprooting of trees. The initial discussions started off well with goodwill being shown by all sides to improve the first plans presented by the government – plans that were deemed to be unacceptable.

"Talks continued over the last five years with a breakthrough in discussions."

DLĦGħ founder member Godfrey Swain added that a series of meetings in February between DLĦGħ, the Gozo Ministry and the architectural team responsible for the project cleared a number of potential misunderstandings.

"The final outcome is deemed to be a reasonable outcome in the circumstances and the process followed in this project could serve as a model on which future infrastructural projects can be agreed with NGOs to safeguard our natural environment.”

The DLĦ and DLHGħ teams included past and present presidents Alex Torpiano and Patrick Calleja, Godfrey Swain, Daniel Cilia, Danny Scanlon and Ann Marie Aquilina.

'We could not ignore the environment'

In a ministry statement on Thursday afternoon confirming the agreement, Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri said: “While one understands the importance of this project to make the road safer and of the highest standard, we could not ignore the environmental fact and, in fact, we also gave priority to this aspect.”

The minister thanked Din l-Art Ħelwa, adding the ministry had always been open to discussions about the road so the project would be carried out "in the best interest of the people", the statement read.