Another mega project on Pembroke’s doorstep will “bury” the town’s residents, mayor Kaylon Zammit said.
“If what was reported in the newspapers is true, the project will bury the residents living near it. That is why the local council has serious reservations about this project,” Pembroke’s Labour mayor said.
Earlier this week, Times of Malta reported the cabinet had formally approved a partial review of the St George’s Bay local plans, paving the way for another mega-development in the area, this time on the site of Villa Rosa.
The amendment could mean that the project submitted by Anthony Camilleri, known as Tal-Franċiż, could grow exponentially from the originally proposed 57,000 square metres.
The site is located near a massive db Group development.
On Friday, Zammit said the Pembroke council had not received any official information about changes to the St Julian’s local plans for St George’s Bay.
“The only information we have is from newspapers, but if what is being reported is true, the Pembroke local council has very serious reservations,” he said.
“We believe that the rights and well-being of our residents should always be protected, even if the project is technically in St Julian’s,” he said.
He said Pembroke residents living close to the proposed site would especially be affected.
Zammit said he would be able to comment further on the project once more details emerge.
Swieqi mayor Noel Muscat also voiced his opposition, stating: “I can’t understand the scope behind more monstrous projects in an area that is already bursting at the seams”.
“All these towers might make sense in Dubai, but not in Malta,” he said.
Muscat said the area already faces significant traffic and overcrowding problems, adding that new high-rises in the pipeline would make matters worse.
“The government is saying such projects will attract quality tourists, but these developments are only creating a jungle,” he said.
St Julian’s mayor Guido Dalli, however, was more cautious in his choice of words saying the council was still analysing the effects of such a project on the locality, adding: “We are not against progress per se”.
Dalli said he would meet the Villa Rosa site owners on Saturday, when they will present their area plan to him.
“We are working with our architects, who will help us understand the project; we will then submit our objections as necessary.”
PN MP Albert Buttigieg, former PL MEP Cyrus Engerer, independent politician Arnold Cassola, and NGOs Graffitti and il-Kollettiv have already expressed their opposition to a mega-development in front of St George’s Bay.