Żurrieq residents and farmers want the government to amend local plans for the region, after a developer filed plans to develop 11,000 square metres of virgin land into apartment blocks. 

Led by Għaqda Residenti taż-Żurrieq, the residents held a press conference on Saturday at the site of the proposed development.

They noted that the government has promised to amend local plans for Marsascala, Qala and recently Bulebel but had made no such promise for the Żurrieq.

On Friday, the Lands Ministry said the land in question will be developed only for “social and community uses”. It did not specify what that meant.

Residents have banded together to express concern about an application filed by Francis Spiteri of Tal-Karmnu Construction Company to build a road in the Tal-Bebbux area that will open the area up to development. The area in question was added to the development zone in 2006, when local plans were amended.

More than 1,000 objections against the plans have been filed with the Planning Authority, including one by the town’s local council.

Residents say that the government’s pledge is an encouraging step but does not offer them peace of mind.

“The country’s leadership needs to understand that residents across Malta are fed up of environmental destruction for the sake of speculation,” resident Jan Camilleri said on Saturday. “Our struggle is not partisan and is similar to that of residents across Malta.”

He said that just as the government is investing millions to buy back local band clubs, it should also be “buying back land earmarked for development for the enjoyment of the public.”

His sentiment was echoed by Annalisa Schembri, a farmer whose field lies in the proposed development zone.

“We’re tired of the same narrative that local plans cannot be changed. The wrongs of previous administrations cannot be righted by this government’s inactivity. The government has the obligation to revise the plans and show political responsibility to do what is right for the wellbeing of the communities, not the developers’,” she said.

Schembri invited the Prime Minister to spend a day with them “to understand the challenges that we face, and the destruction that he is sponsoring.”

Fellow farmer Robert Bondin Carter criticised the secrecy surrounding the application, which had been in the works for two years without the farmers being told anything. “What about our human rights? What about our mental health? During the pandemic, farmers were expected to go to work to guarantee the supply of food. Now we’ve gone back to being ignored and mistreated.”

Matthew Borg, from the Għaqda Residenti taż-Żurrieq, noted that the rezoning bid falls under the PA’s rationalisation scheme.

“This is really a speculation scheme, where landowners who bought the land for cheap are being encouraged to make huge profits on the back of the communities’ wellbeing,” he said.

Borg thanked the local council for objecting to the project, and called for the residents to have a voice in discussions on the future of the area.

He said residents would continue to push for a change in local plans to protect the area, irrespective of the Lands Ministry’s pledge to protect it from speculative development.

“The Local Plans are 18 years old and are no longer suited to today’s realities. If these plans for Zurrieq were to be realised, the town would be turned into a slum with a substantial loss for our quality of life, and to the identity of the village,” Borg said.

“Our association will continue in its work to preserve the beauty of Zurrieq, and we are willing to work with the authorities as long as they show an interest in doing so,” Borg concluded.