The number of approved new dwellings in Gozo increased sixfold over five years, according to Planning Authority data.
In all, there were 281 approved new developments for apartments, maisonettes, terraced houses, villas and other dwellings in 2015.
These doubled to 546 the following year, doubling again to 1,061 in 2018, and spiking at 1,754 in 2019.
Qala had the biggest increase – from just three new terraced houses in 2015, the authorities greenlighted 60 such dwellings, 82 maisonettes and 87 apartments in 2019, seeing a total of 229 new developments in just one year.
Qala mayor Paul Buttigieg said the exaggerated development in recent years had changed the village overnight.
There are currently eight tower cranes set up on construction sites, and some 400 apartments under development, Buttigieg said when contacted.
“The exaggerated scale of development in such a short time is having a detrimental impact on the locality’s road infrastructure and cleanliness, among others.
Qala mayor says development has changed the village overnight
“Some developers prefer paying a fine rather than provide an adequate amount of garage space, so Qala residents are experiencing parking challenges,” he said.
The mayor noted that he had repeatedly called for a bin room in the communal areas of each apartment block, a common practice abroad.
The lack of such communal rooms, where domestic waste would be left until it is collected was leading to rubbish bags left outdoors overnight by weekenders. Stray animals tear the bags before collection, leaving a mess on the pavements.
The council has often voiced concern about development in the locality, and has been waiting six months for its appeal to be heard against the development of 167 apartments, which were greenlighted through two planning applications and whose construction is nearly complete, the mayor said.
The Qala mayor is not the only one to sound the alarm.
Earlier this year, other Gozitan mayors expressed disquiet over a wave of five-storey blocks mushrooming in villages and ruining the island’s urban fabric.
The president of Gozo’s Regional Council, Samuel Azzopardi, had stressed the need to develop policy organically from within Gozo rather than “adopting whatever is adopted in Malta and tweaked a little bit to fit Gozo.”
Wirt Għawdex, a heritage NGO, has also warned that two extensive planning proposals in Xlendi could forever change the aesthetics and character of the bay.
According to data provided by the PA, all localities, except Għasri, registered an increase in the development of new dwellings.
San Lawrenz, with no new developments in 2015, saw 28 new dwellings five years later, mostly maisonettes and terraced houses.
Similarly, two terraced houses were added to Fontana’s existing dwellings in 2015, but 2019 saw 33 new developments.
Rabat and Sannat also had a substantial increase in this regard.
The capital saw an increase from 30 to 263 developments, in 2015 and 2019 respectively, and Sannat’s tally went up from 16 to 190.
While Munxar did see four times as many new developments in 2019 (74) when compared to 2015 (19), it registered a high number of new dwellings in 2017 (151).