Local Councils across Malta and Gozo will be tapping a €700,000 urban greening grant to regenerate abandoned gardens and create new urban spaces.

Eleven different projects will be funded through the government initiative, the Environment Ministry and parliamentary secretariat for local councils said.

They include projects in Żejtun, Għajnsielem and Ħamrun.

In Żejtun and Għajnsielem water reservoirs are going to be built and two disused areas will be turned into public gardens, the mayors of those respective localities told Times of Malta. Trees are to be planted, and artificial lighting, benches and canopies will be installed. In Ħamrun disused allotments are to be generated through an initiative to introduce a public garden. 

Environment Minister Miriam Dalli and local government parliamentary secretary Alison Zerafa Civelli both emphasised the need to improve residential areas by making them safer, more enjoyable, and more sustainable.  

The need for more public spaces in localities was a key point in Labour’s electoral campaign which promised to invest €700 million in urban greening projects.  

However, recent urban environmental projects have been criticised. Ġnien Ċikku Fenech, a project in Mosta that saw the regeneration of an abandoned field, came under fire for its addition of wide paths that appeared to be made of cement. 

The ministry shook off that criticism, saying the paths were built using a 'soil cement' that it described as " a natural ground stabilised material made of soil, gravel and other aggregates intended to softly age with the rest of the garden with time." 

Correction July 25, 2022: A previous version stated that Ġnien Ċikku Fenech paths were made of "cement".