A public garden in Swieqi is to be embellished using Planning Authority funds, with the authority also bankrolling an upgrade of streetlighting in several Mellieħa streets.
The projects, which will be funded through the PA’s Development Planning Fund, were announced by Planning Minister Aaron Farrugia, who was accompanied by DPF committee chair Vincent Cassar and the town’s two mayors, Noel Muscat and Dario Vella.
Swieqi will see Esprit Barthet Garden and its surroundings upgraded with new paving, landscaping, urban furniture and children’s adventure equipment, with €153,000 earmarked for the project.
That upgrade will be complemented by an additional €80,000 investment to extend a clubhouse in a garden on Triq il-Ħemel, providing Swieqi-based sports and cultural organisations with meeting rooms, office space and an area to use for seminars and lectures.
In Mellieha, the PA will be forking out around €128,000 for improved street lighting. The nine streets which will benefit from this project are Sqaq Nru 1 Triq il-Muna, Triq il-Barkazza, Triq iż-Żebbuġ, Triq il-Ġojjin, Triq il-Gardell, Triq il-Bufula, Triq il-Bilbla, Daħlet is-Sardinell and Daħlet id-Dalji. This is the third time the PA is funding improved street lighting in this locality, having previously done so in Triq il-Qortin and Triq Għajn Żejtuna.
Minister Farrugia said that a total of €355,000 would be invested in the Swieqi and Mellieħa projects.
“We are working towards creating livable environments and happier communities. Through various initiatives, we are creating and encouraging better recreational areas and healthier urban environments,” he said.
The DPF is used to finance urban regeneration projects. It was revamped last year to include green and blue infrastructure.
“This fund, which was reformed last year, provides local councils and NGOs with the necessary financial support for them to be proactive and undertake projects that are aimed at improving the wellbeing, environment, and social dimension of our towns and villages,” Farrugia said.
DPF committee chair Cassar urged local councils, NGOs and other organisations to come forward with urban green project proposals to be funded through the DPF.
“We are eager to fund local projects which have at their core sustainable ecology, the health of the community and a vision for long-term success. We are all out to encourage new methods of introducing greenery into Malta’s urban environment to purify the air, reduce ambient temperature and enhance the community’s well-being”, he said.