The Gozo regional council is urging the Planning Authority to take effective action after all Gozo mayors said “shocking reports” confirmed their "justified preoccupation" at the incessant development on the island.
In a statement, the council said the mayors also highlighted the “unprecedented problems” that all localities in Gozo are being confronted with because of development applications in urban areas being lodged by “irresponsible land speculators” and obtaining approval by the respective authorities.
The granting of these development permits is not only ruining the aesthetics of the charming historic centres but also leading to environmental and urban degradation of village characteristics while creating unprecedented collateral social problems, they said.
Save the island from becoming an extension “of the ill-fated destiny of Malta” where development was allowed to go on unhindered with the blessing of the PA
While the councils within the Gozo Region expressed strong belief in the functioning of authorities, all insisted that the PA ought to be more cautious when considering and evaluating any development application, especially those in urban centres.
The PA also has a moral and environmental obligation to consider the justified recommendations lodged by the respective councils in respect to each development application and to ensure that any project development respects and preserves the urban characteristics of each and every locality in Gozo.
The council president and the mayors insisted that any development in Gozo cannot be evaluated in isolation but ought to be considered against policies that are drafted to truly reflect the particularities of Gozo and in strict observance to the unique characteristics that define any urban centre.
It was only in this way that the aesthetics and characteristics of each distinct locality in Gozo could be preserved saving the island from becoming an extension “of the ill-fated destiny of Malta” where development was allowed to go on unhindered with the blessing of the PA and the “unscrupulous, irresponsible land speculators”.