‘Purely pastoral reasons behind Ta’ Pinu project’

The proposed development at Ta’ Pinu sanctuary in Għarb was solely aimed at easing the parking problem of the many people who flocked to the basilica for prayer, sanctuary rector Fr Gerrard Buhagiar said.

“The project is aimed at improving the area. Nothing is being done for commercial purposes but the development is only for pastoral reasons,” Fr Buhagiar insisted.

He defended the application for a retreat house, car park and visitor centre adjacent to the popular sanctuary.

“We have problems with traffic every Sunday and it’s not the first time I had to interrupt Mass by reading out registration numbers, asking drivers to move their cars,” he said.

The cars spill onto the road – sometimes dangerously – and were restricted in parking on one side only because of roadworks.

The proposed development would help ease the parking problem slightly by converting a nearby, unused field into a car park. The field, owned by the Church, was not good for agricultural use because of its high clay content, Fr Buhagiar said.

Also, lack of parking meant certain activities that could only take place on the church parvis – such as the recital of the rosary using torches – were not possible. “I think we are the only church in the world where the parvis is used as a car park,” Fr Buhagiar said.

The sanctuary also had to turn down many requests by Maltese, Gozitan and foreigners for retreats because of lack of space. But, if the application is approved, an unused building below the sanctuary would be converted into a retreat house which, Fr Buhagiar insisted, was not a “hotel” but a “quiet sanctuary”.

The proposed visitor centre and shop would be a one-storey building that would replace the present two-storey unit that also housed the police station, Fr Buhagiar said.

“I think the Church has every right to file an application, especially since the development will improve the value of the area, which isn’t used to the full,” he explained. It was the Church’s duty to provide a place of rest for the whole of the family and to fulfil its pastoral duty.

The project was criticised by Għarb residents and lobby group Żminijietna that called on the planning authority to refuse the application. They also asked the Church Environment Commission to condemn the “unsustainable” development.

But Fr Buhagiar believes the criticism is mainly due to lack of information about the project and, in fact, a stand with designs of the proposed development was set up at the sanctuary to inform the public about the project.

He pointed out that even though the area was listed as outside development scheme, planning policies allowed a certain type of “sensitive” development. “But, at the end of the day, it’s in the hands of the authorities,” he said.