NGOs slam Sliema lido land reclamation plans as ‘pure madness’

Environmental NGOs have come out strongly against plans to reclaim part of the sea along the Sliema-Gżira coastline for a new lido, warning the project would privatise public space, damage the seabed and further congest one of Malta’s most densely populated areas.

The development application, filed by Strand Lido Ltd, LAMHCO and Sea Pebbles Ltd, seeks permission for land reclamation opposite Manoel Island for the building of a lido including an outdoor swimming pool, sun deck, restaurants, play area and ancillary facilities.

The proposal has already drawn criticism from Sliema mayor John Pillow and Gżira mayor Neville Chetcuti, who have both raised concerns about the impact on the promenade and views across the creek.

Speaking to Times of Malta, Moviment Graffitti’s Andre Callus described the proposal as “simply appalling”, saying it reflected how private interests were repeatedly allowed to “run roughshod over the common citizen and the common good”.

He said the application would lead to the privatisation of part of the Gżira and Sliema waterfront, as well as the “destruction of the seabed and surrounding environment through land reclamation”.

“To top it all, a horrifying lido, blocking views and further congesting the area, would be built for the exclusive profit of private individuals,” Callus said.

He argued that Gżira and Sliema had already suffered from “the takeover by greed”, pointing to high-rise development and the occupation of public spaces by commercial tables, chairs and structures.

Callus also linked the proposal to other contentious developments in the area, saying it was telling that while the Planning Authority was processing the lido application, it was also recommending the approval of private padel courts built illegally on public land on Manoel Island.

“After having gobbled up most of the land and pushed the common citizen to the margins, they have set their sights on exploiting our seas,” he said.

Callus said that while the lido proposal had not yet been approved by the Planning Authority, the fact that an application involving public land and sea had been submitted meant it had already been given the go-ahead in principle by government authorities.

“To further burden Gżira and Sliema with totally unsustainable commercial activity is pure madness,” he said, adding that part of the coastline had already been privatised through the nearby Aqualuna lido.

“This has become a race to the bottom over who can take more from the people and from our environment in order to enrich themselves.”

Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar also objected to the project, with coordinator Astrid Vella saying it was “a non-starter which should never have been presented”.

Speaking to Times of Malta, Vella said Sliema and Gżira, already Malta’s highest population density area, needed their public spaces and open views protected rather than being placed under further commercial pressure.

“Why should the public donate its most precious resources - land and open space - to private interests when these projects only take from the community without giving anything back?” she said.

Vella warned that the project would bring more traffic to already congested streets, more entertainment noise, disruption linked to tourism, increased pressure on drains and further air pollution.

She said the project would undermine residents’ quality of life and attract “sun-seekers and party revellers”, running counter to claims that Malta’s tourism strategy was moving towards higher quality tourism.

FAA also argued that the proposal contradicts the government’s Vision 2050 pledges on quality of life, communities and heritage.

Vella said the project would violate the proposed Valletta UNESCO buffer zone by eliminating views of Valletta’s World Heritage fortifications from the Sliema and Gżira Strand promenade across Sliema Creek, which she said is protected as an Area of High Landscape Value.

She said such a sensitive site required extensive studies, assessments and surveys before it could be properly assessed by the Planning Authority and the Environment and Resources Authority.

“Yet the speed of processing indicates that it is already being fast-tracked,” Vella said. “This reflects very poorly on a government actively pledging to promote open spaces, residents’ rights and quality of life.”

Government announces new Gzira garden

The Environment Ministry on Wednesday announced a €10 million project to rehabilitate the Gżira pumping station and open its garden to the public. 

The pumping station is housed in a Grade 1 Neo-Gothic building on Rue D'Argens. It is to be restored and, for the first time in its history, opened to the public, along with its garden. 

The historic Gzira pumping station building will be restored and opened for the public, along with its garden.

Environment Minister Miriam Dalli explained that the pumping station is a scheduled monument and an important part of Malta’s water infrastructure, dating back to the late nineteenth century.

“This will be a garden for everyday life, a place where children can play, where elderly residents can enjoy the shade, where the community can organise activities without having to leave its own locality," she said.

The project will be led by the Water Services Corporation.

The garden will be accessible from Luqa Briffa Street and Rue D’Argens.

Karl Cilia, Chief executive officer of the Water Services Corporation, said that the project is one of the most important heritage intervention initiatives ever carried out within Malta’s water infrastructure, and the first to also deliver a new public garden. “The Gżira pumping station served this country for more than a century, and our aim is for it to continue doing so for the next century. We are restoring the building to its original glory, improving the systems that keep it running so that it operates more efficiently and with less noise than ever before, and, for the first time in its history, opening its grounds to the public as a new garden. It is rare for a project to deliver benefits for heritage, the environment, operations and public space all at once. This project does precisely that.”

 Once works are completed, the pumping station building will also host the Gżira Local Council.