“Stupid” and “senseless” are two key words used to describe Hili Ventures’ project to develop Comino. This rather brutish appraisal comes not from civil society, too often and too easily accused of being “aggressive”, but from Labour MEP Alex Agius Saliba, who took to social media to criticise the project. It was followed by a call to save the island from overdevelopment by former Labour minister Evarist Bartolo, in a comment piece in this newspaper under the headline ‘Destroying the rock’.
The “redevelopment” of the Comino Hotel foresees a new hotel, comprising 71 suites and 19 serviced bungalows. The authorities will decide on whether real estate meant for short and long lets will be suitable on a Natura 2000 site.
A few days ago, seven civil society groups rallied the public to object, and thousands of objections poured in, a confirmation of popular sentiment against the proposed project. That the public is very sensitive about Comino was evident last summer after civil society – once again taking over the mantle of being the only opposition to greed and private interests – descended on the Blue Lagoon to try to reclaim it.
The two actions were followed by long silences from the political world, which seems intent on its imitations of the three monkeys whenever public land is stolen in broad daylight.
Now, protesters fear the proposed Comino project is a veritable pincer movement on one of our last open spaces. This is not just an environmental or design issue that can be resolved with the Planning Authority requesting new designs or partial downscaling.
Besides the impact on Comino, which will invariably include more boat trips despite frequent calls for a cap on landings, there is also a social aspect that needs to be kept in mind.
The result is the same: the permanent loss of open spaces for us, residents, citizens and taxpayers, for the benefit of tourists and long-term lessors who have no relationship with the islands.
With the Hilis purchasing Santa Marija Bay, and deckchair operators taking over the Blue Lagoon, Comino would effectively be privatised. It makes no difference whether the former have the legal rights to do so while the latter don’t.
The result is the same: the permanent loss of open spaces for us, residents, citizens and taxpayers, for the benefit of tourists and long-term lessors who have no relationship with the islands.
In recent years, campers and illegal structures were removed from Comino. Now that a low-lying structure is in the offing, it becomes clear that unless you can afford it, the island will become off-limits to the majority of the population.
Agius Saliba’s comment about Comino came at the tail end of a post welcoming Project Green, a €700 million cache with which Miriam Dalli has to fulfil Labour’s electoral promise of offering more open spaces. He echoed the sentiment of many by saying the government should be protecting the available open spaces, which is also to say that building gardens in our towns will never compensate for the loss of Comino and of the rest of the public spaces under threat.
On their part, Hili Ventures said the total land area of the new Comino Hotel & Bungalows will be reduced by 5,122 square metres. It said the skyline will improve in some areas and the new bungalows will be one storey high whereas the current properties include some two-storey buildings.
The hotel will rise to a similar height as the existing derelict property. Yet, the developers’ pledges appear to be doing little to placate many who see Comino as a symbol of national unity against greed. It lies in nobody’s backyard but it is the property of the public, who have had enough of development and the theft of public spaces.