Żurrieq residents gathered on Saturday to once again protest the proposed development of Nigret farmland as they protested against the fact that the deputy leader of the Labour Party is involved in an application seeking to urbanise the area.

Developer Anton Camilleri had filed an application in 2018 to extend existing roads, form new ones and to re-zone a site in Nigret. Labour deputy leader Daniel Micallef is one of three partners at the architectural firm Camilleri used to file the application, X,Y,Z Architecture & Design.

“We plead that you do the honourable thing and ensure that the application is revoked,” Żurrieq resident Justin Attard said in his speech, reminding the crowd of Micallef’s role within the Labour Party.

“You yourself, as deputy leader of party affairs, presented the electoral manifesto of 1,000 proposals that spoke of the Labour Party’s vision for the country’s future,” he said, remarking on two specific proposals from the 2022 election, four years after Micallef filed the application.

“This is not a case that only affects us,” Attard said.

“This is about Żurrieq and every other village in Malta. From what we have seen in other villages, we believe that joining forces will send a strong message against the abuse our quality of life is facing.”

At the end of his speech, Attard called on the Prime Minister to “use every legal mechanism” to ensure that the Żurrieq and Nigret areas are not massacred.

Protesters also highlighted how other planning control applications in the area amount to an assault on Żurrieq, where a flurry of rezoning applications will have the effect of destroying every remaining open space and green lung.

The application will impact a signifcant part of Nigret.

This is not the first time Żurrieq residents have protested the re-zoning and subsequent development of Nigret.

In May, residents gathered to speak out against a 12,000 square metre area of Żurrieq farmland which has been slated for development after a case officer recommended its approval.

When the plans were first published in 2019, around 1,500 objections were made against the application while the Żurrieq local council received a similar number of signatures in a petition also against the project.

A PA executive council was meant to hear the application in May, however the hearing was postponed to Tuesday, Attard said.

The applicant’s architect, former Minister George Pullicino, asked for a deferral after the anger this application caused among the public.

"We are aware that this is a diversionary tactic to distract us, but we are prepared for a long fight,” the residents said in a statement.

Correction June 3, 2023: A previous version stated that Micallef is a project applicant. He is the applicant's architect.