Residents, councillors want park at Mellieħa plot instead of guesthouse
Local council has already filed a parliamentary petition
Mellieħa residents, local councillors and activists on Saturday urged the government to halt development on a plot at Taż-Żnuber and instead turn it into a public park.
The land is earmarked for a project that includes a 26-room guest house and 28 apartments.
Mayor Gabriel Micallef, on behalf of the Mellieħa local council, has submitted a parliamentary petition titled Request for the Expropriation of Land in Mellieħa (Originally Public Land) – PA07710/24.
On Saturday, Carl Borg, a resident, told a press conference organised by locals, councillors and Il-Kollettiv that his father and uncle had planted trees on the site.
“Even then, before Project Green even existed, they understood the importance of open spaces, and they made a choice. The residents have made their choice too,” he said.
“The decision is not in our hands, but we hope a decision for the benefit of the many, not of the few, will be taken.”
Mayor Micallef noted that open spaces in his town were very limited.
“We objected to this development after discussions with the residents. The council is determined that government-owned public spaces which haven’t been developed are to remain public.”
“The Planning Authority consistently runs roughshod over everyone else. The entrance of our town is a monument to illegality. A hotel is operating with two illegal storeys... in total impunity. We cannot solely object to developments on a policy basis, because the PA will ignore us.”
Deputy mayor Matthew Borg Cuschieri, meanwhile, claimed that the Malta Developments Association sought to use planning laws to guarantee its greed, and to "forever destroy democracy, as well as urban and rural spaces".
“We cannot live in a dictatorship led by whoever is running the PA. Dear Prime Minister, you say you want a better Malta. This is only possible if residents, their environment and their health are first and foremost, and only possible if you put our children and us first.”
The organisers said in a statement that the council and residents have been challenging overdevelopment in Mellieħa for the last few years, as construction activity intensified in the picturesque locality, resulting in the loss of many open spaces, including Mellieħa Heights.