A planned 71-unit apartment block at Nadur will take up arable land and be out of character with the village, the Moviment Graffitti said on Thursday.

The four-storey project will also feature 74 garages on two basement levels, and a communal pool. The development, in Triq il-Qortin, partly falls outside the development zone.

"The proposed development is significantly out-of-proportion with the other buildings in the area and jars considerably with the surroundings. If given the green light by the authorities, such a huge building will no doubt lead to the overnight transformation of this quiet countryside road. It is clear that this development threatens to further destroy the rural character of what was once an idyllic Gozitan village, resulting in a negative impact on the life of residents," the activist group said. 

"To add further insult to injury, it will also destroy arable land that is still worked by local farmers, who will see their livelihoods destroyed and their land replaced by another ghastly, uninspiring block of apartments." 

The development will also cause parking and sewerage problems and restrict access to the Natura 2000 site, il-Qortin, situated at the end of the street. 

The group urged the Planning Authority to reject the development and said the people have had enough of seeing more agricultural land 'brutalized at the hands of unscrupulous land speculators and gobbled-up by tarmac and hideous blocks of apartments' which give nothing back to the community.