The government has backpedalled on plans to set up a therapeutic centre for children with behavioural problems in Mtarfa, with Family and Social Solidarity Minister Michael Falzon telling parliament that alternative sites are being considered.

He was replying to a parliamentary question by Nationalist Party MP Charles Azzopardi.

Mtarfa local council immediately welcomed the news, adding that this vindicated its view that the proposed location was unsuited.

The project was announced in March 2022, with the ministry saying the new centre was estimated to cost around €17 million. It had said the centre would be made up of four blocks of six apartments each.  

The centre was planned to house 24 minors under the age of 18 convicted by the courts or showing behavioural issues.  

Residents had described the project as a juvenile prison rather than a therapeutic centre.

The council had said at the time that while it agreed in principle with the need for this project, the small and quiet locality of Mtarfa was not the right place for it. Mtarfa already hosts several governmental and non-governmental entities, including a home for the elderly, three homes that offer services for people with disabilities, a health shelter for people with food-related problems and an international school.

The council had noted that the proposed project was to be located next to private residences, close to a primary school and local entities that welcomed children and young people. 

In its statement welcoming the news that the project would be taken elsewhere, the council said its position from the outset was that the proposed site at Mtarfa was not suitable. It also stressed that the size of the project was disproportionate to the area in which it was proposed.

The Labour-led council thanked the government for understanding the council’s request and stressed that the building should be used for community purposes and by the locality’s voluntary associations, with the external area remaining accessible for public enjoyment.