The massive construction project including a tower and mega-hotel in Pembroke is giving residents nightmares of clouds of dust, toxic traffic congestion and dismal quality of life.
A gathering of residents, local councils and NGOs today heard concerns that the project proposed by the db Group on the former ITS site will have significant adverse effects on the surrounding community.
The project, which will consist of a 37-storey residential tower and a 19-storey hotel resort, has stoked controversy, not least because it will overshadow an already densely populated area.
The hotel is expected to have a whopping 455 rooms, and also include a casino and a large shopping mall.
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Holding placards that read: “Do not bury us alive”, residents expressed shock at studies that estimate the development will produce some 336,085 tonnes of waste during the demolition and excavation phase alone.
“Can you imagine breathing in air while 10 huge excavators are drilling and digging for four months straight? It will be a disaster,” one resident said.
Another mother said that after having moved to Pembroke, her two children's separate medical conditions had improved – this was now all at risk.
“One of my children has asthma and needs clean area, the other has Asperger’s Syndrome and needs peace and tranquillity. How am I to know they won’t both suffer a relapse during this development?” she said.
St Julian's mayor Guido Dalli warned that the project could mark “the beginning of the end for Pembroke.”
“I remember when St Julian's was like Pembroke. Now all we have left it construction, noise and pollution. Don't let what happened to St Julian's happen to Pembroke,” he said.
Pembroke mayor Dean Hili said the town still functioned like a normal residential area but the projects that were being planned for the town would put it in jeopardy.
Meanwhile, residents also fear a drastic reduction in the amount of sunlight hitting their neighbourhoods. This would reach its peak in December, when the proposed tower’s shadow could reach as far as the town’s reverse osmosis plant, it was claimed.
Moviment Grafitti spokesman Andre Callus asked the residents who stands to benefit from this project.
"Will it be you? Or will it be the few with big money that can influence decisions?”
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