Plans for a regional health centre in Buġibba will be modified to save 10 mature trees on site, Health Minister Chris Fearne announced on Thursday.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Fearne said he held discussions with the Foundation for Medical Services to amend drawings for the so-called Northern Hub.

It was Birdlife Malta that drew the foundation’s attention to the trees - popular for roosting birds - while the project was still in its initial planning stages. The project is currently going through a preliminary screening process by the Planning Authority and the Environment and Resources Authority.

Following Birdlife's intervention, the foundation went back to the drawing board and is planning minor modifications to the plans to save all 10 trees.

In his post, Fearne said that the modifications will ensure the trees are retained while at the same time still achieving the scope of a modern building with facilities that will continue to provide excellent health services.

Meanwhile, a protest that was being organised by green party ADPD on Friday to protest against the removal of the trees was cancelled following the publication of Times of Malta's story. Birdlife also hailed the news as a victory for the roosting birds. 

The centre will be situated at a site that used to be owned by telecommunications company GO and which was returned to the government some 10 years ago.  

The site abuts Triq Il-Port Ruman, Triq Il-Maskli, Triq Domenico De Nizza and Triq Il-Fliegu.

No timeline has been mentioned for the construction of this hub.

The Northern Hub, together with the Southern Regional Hub which will open in Paola in 2024, are meant to be the two pillars of Primary Health Care that will be offering 24/7 outpatient health services in the community.

They will provide speciality services such as dental, cardiology, day care surgery, sexual health care, ultrasound, bone densitometry and echocardiography services among others. Providing these services in the hubs in the community will offload services from Mater Dei Hospital, reducing waiting times.

The hubs are also expected to offer emergency services, consultancy, physiotherapy and pharmaceutical services.

According to information provided to ERA, the catchment area for the Northern Hub is estimated to reach approximately 205,000 residents.

The site covers an area of approximately 14,200 square metres. The northern portion of the site is currently occupied by a public car park accommodating approximately 120 vehicles.

There are several vacant, single-storey structures located on site. According to the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage (SCH) these structures, while not currently scheduled, have some military heritage importance.