From shore to shore in the Marsascala bay, the sea shines a deep blue as the Posidonia beds below dance to the rhythm of the currents. Despite the passage of time, the blueprint of a humble fishing village has survived.

Beyond the balconies of short-let flats, fishermen still repair nets under the sea-side church of St Anne.

When plans to build a yacht marina in Marsascala emerged last August, the anger among residents was palpable. However, six months of tireless campaigning has resulted in Prime Minister Robert Abela buckling to public pressure and announcing that the government has scrapped its plans.

But this outcome was never a given.

Just last week, Infrastructure Minister Ian Borg labelled opposition to the marina as a “PN candidate’s campaign” and said the project was moving into its second phase.

The turning point seemed to come a day later, when Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne, who is elected on the third district which includes Marsascala, voiced opposition to the marina.

The public backlash in a typically Labour stronghold was unusual.

A protest against the marina plans. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

Activist Wayne Flask thinks the government underestimated public sentiment in a village whose open spaces have been under threat from an AUM campus in Żonqor, the relocation of the waterpolo pitch to a swimming zone and the looming Jerma hotel redevelopment.

“What was particular about this is that it was a Labour project in a Labour district and I think it took them too long to realise how angry people actually were,” he said.

The residents who attended protests and organised events see the bay as more than just a parcel of prime real estate up for grabs.

“I was born in Marsascala and I have always lived here... I love this place,” Jacqueline Rotin, a resident campaigner, said.

“I spend most of my time here because it’s beautiful. Our sea and our countryside have always been very important to me and when I saw that this project would be such a huge threat to it, I couldn’t just step aside.”

Rotin recalls that, in 2007, similar plans for a marina had emerged under a PN government and was met with a similar outcry.

Residents want to keep the bay the way it is.

“I think because the marina issue was never really put to bed, it has always been a fear in the back of my mind,” she said.

“But, this time, the fear turned into anger and we did everything we could to make sure our voices were heard.

“There are so many reasons to oppose these marina plans,” she added, citing the shocking scale of it and its impact on the bay as a meeting place for all strata.

“People meet to have fun and spend time with their families. You have the swimmers and joggers, fishermen, cultural activities like the festa. How can we accept our common asset being signed off to a private bidder to the detriment of the community?”

Local council minority leader John Baptist Camilleri, who made the marina plans public, said he did not doubt that residents would eventually prevail.

“Marsascala is a clear example of what citizens who speak up can achieve when they organise themselves,”- Andre Callus

“I was convinced we would win, maybe not as quickly as it turned out, but I was sure,” he said.

“Because there was not a single valid reason to build this marina here.”

Camilleri was impressed on how opposition to the marina united the community across the political divide.

“It was a lot of hard work... residents everywhere need to speak up for their rights. Sometimes you start as two or three people and end up with a movement of hundreds.”

Movement Graffiti activist Andre Callus, who was directly involved in the actions, warned that, without policy changes, the bay would still be open to development under the 2006 local plans.

“Marsascala is a clear example of what citizens who speak up can achieve when they organise themselves,” he said.

But flawed policies and dysfunctional authorities were still wreaking environmental destruction.

“The problem is that, for a long time, the Labour Party rightfully criticised the local plans drawn up by the PN but when they had the opportunity to change them, they didn’t, so the vulnerability remains,” he pointed out.

“It would be difficult for the prime minister to go back on his word but if it ever comes up again, we will be ready to fight it”, Callus said.