St Paul’s Bay residents gathered in Buġibba square on Saturday evening, decrying how their hometown was turning into a “pigsty”.  

Addressing the media, ADPD leader and St Paul’s Bay resident Sandra Gauci, said that every corner and open space is being given to developers who are only interested in taking over what is not theirs, leaving residents in dust, dirt, and noise.

She pointed out that the pavements in public areas were poorly maintained and littered with garbage, residents had to endure noise from bars, and business interests had turned residents into victims of overdevelopment.

“We are tired of being victims of those who only see St Paul’s Bay as a place to make money and completely forgetting residents,” she said.  

Rosemarie Calleja, a lecturer and St Paul’s Bay resident, also addressed those present explaining that there were plans to continue developing the besieged locality.

She said a project by the health ministry and Joseph Portelli to build a regional health centre, including an adjacent hotel, would lead to demolishment of a skate park and British-era military structures. 

A car park that holds 120 cars was earmarked to be replaced by a four-storey underground car park that could accomodate over 850 vehicles. The resulting increase in traffic would lead to chaos, she said.   

‘Dirty and unkept’  

In her speech, Gauci said that old and broken pavements are brimming with garbage bags daily.   

“In the space where a single-family used to live, 10 people are living there now,” she said.   

Gauci said that St Paul’s Bay has been left unkept despite Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo promising to revamp the Buġibba square before the election.

“See with your eyes, what a beautiful piazza this is,” she said ironically.  

She said the Buġibba piazza has become a "monument to ugliness" without any aesthetic considerations or serious planning. 

"Buildings of every shape and size are next to each other as long as we grab and gain."