A Sliema priest has called on the authorities to introduce community policing in the locality, saying the residents are frustrated with "overdevelopment and rowdiness".

“I remember when Sliema used to be a place for people to enjoy the seaside in peace,” St Gregory’s parish priest Etienne Sciberras told a meeting on Wednesday. 

“I am sad to say Sliema has become the opposite of what it used to be. The residents are victims of overdevelopment and over-tourism."

Sciberras was addressing residents and the media at a meeting organised by the Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar and the Sliema Residents Association about overdevelopment in Gżira, Sliema and St Julian's. 

He was present alongside Fr Paul Mizzi, the St Julian’s Parish priest. Several priests from parishes in the three localities could not make it to the meeting because they were either ill or had to funerals to attend to.

Residents shared their frustration with the overdevelopment, noise pollution and garbage problems they face on a daily instance. Credit: Jonathan Borg

Sciberras said Sliema had become an eyesore, as streets are filled with garbage while noisy and indecently dressed tourists walk along the seafront.

He claimed that when he raised the issue of indecent clothing with the police, he was told that the criminal offence could not be enforced so as not to impact tourism.

“Sliema needs community police,” he added. 

Residents have been calling for community policing for years.

The call was strengthened following violent incidents on the Sliema front, including the murder of Paulina Dembksa in 2022. 

That year, the Home Affairs Ministry told Times of Malta that community policing in Sliema would be “envisioned” in 2023. 

A year on, the promise remains unfulfilled. 

Speaking to Times of Malta, Sliema mayor John Pillow said he has called for a meeting with the Police Commissioner to discuss the introduction of community policing.

Father Paul Mizzi during the press conference on Wednesday. Credit: Jonathan Borg

‘What will we leave our future generation?’

The meeting touched on numerous topics - from the growing trash problem to noise pollution and overdevelopment.

Mayors and residents of the three localities have often voiced concern about heaps of uncollected garbage in the streets, and how overdevelopment and traffic issues have impacted them negatively. 

Both priests said overdevelopment has killed the sense of community and has negative effects on the ageing population.

“I am all for progress, but I think the brakes (on development) should have been fastened quite a while ago,” Mizzi said. 

“It’s good to live in a diverse and inclusive country, but aren’t the elderly part of this diversity,” he asked, pointing out how elderly residents struggle to walk outside because of the disastrous quality of the pavements. 

Mizzi said several parishioners spoke to him about how they were “buried in their own homes” and had no access to light in their homes because of high rises. 

He also spoke about young children exposed to cannabis smoke, and how people could smell cannabis in public places such as beaches. 

“It has become difficult to build a community because many people who moved to Sliema are foreigners who come to work and have fun and then leave for another country,” he said. 

He ended his speech by referring to the Book of Genesis, when God created man as “stewards” on this earth. 

“We do not own the land, we are here to leave it for the next generation. My question is: what are we leaving for the next generation?”

"Our communities are suffering", Astrid Vella on Wednesday

 ‘GDP is their God, not the electorate’

Addressing the same meeting, Flimkien Ghal Ambjent Ahjar Astrid Vella said that all politicians and developers cared about was money. 

“GDP is their God - all they care about is money, not the electorate,” she said.

She said Malta did not only need high-quality tourists but should generate more intrinsic community values. 

“Our communities are suffering because of overdevelopment and overtourism,” she said.

She added that between 2013 and 2024, over 300 permits were issued for hotels in the St Julian's, Sliema and Gżira.