Qala mayor Paul Buttigieg says he will take to the courts should a major development in Gozo’s scenic Ħondoq Bay be given the thumbs up by a planning body this week.
A planning appeals board will on Thursday meet to determine the fate of Ħondoq Bay after a 20-year saga threatening the unspoilt stretch of Gozitan coastline finally draws to a conclusion.
The PA’s Environment Planning Review Tribunal will be handing down its final decision on an application to build a hotel and parking facilities as well as 25 villas, 60 apartments and 200 multi-owner properties at the site.
Buttigieg, however, said he is already prepared to head straight to court and block the development should the planning body give it the green light tomorrow.
“You can rest assured that we will not just let this go ahead,” he said.
“If the unthinkable happens and this project is approved, we won’t just lie down and let the destruction of Ħondoq take place. I will personally go to court and appeal to block it,” he added.
Buttigieg has been spearheading the fight to save Ħondoq ir-Rummien from development for decades.
Last year, he wrote to MPs insisting that the site should be declared public domain by parliament to protect it from development.
He says that this has come at a great cost to him personally and claims he has been on the receiving end of attempts to derail his political career because of his activism.
Mega-development dates to 2002
The 104,000-square metre mega-development by Gozo Prestige Hotels dates to 2002 and has been the subject of a two-decade battle by Buttigieg and a group of objectors who say the proposed project will turn the slice of the seaside into a construction eyesore.
The proposal had been unanimously rejected by the Planning Authority board in June 2016, in what many thought was the end of the road.
The developers appealed the refusal, however, arguing that their right to a fair hearing had been denied as they were given only 15 days to prepare for the PA hearing.
The appeal will now finally be heard on Thursday.