Three intrepid Gozitans who are standing up to developers of arable land in Nadur feel they are up against their own community too, as older residents fear the “big boys”.

As an appeal against the controversial construction project’s approval gets underway, engineering student Jamie Buttigieg, Corrine Zahra, his neighbour in Triq il-Qortin, and his relative, who lives in the US, refuse to succumb to the omertà they say is characteristic of fellow Gozitans.

The trio, all in their early 20s, are trying to break that mould – although Buttigieg admits it is harder with the older generations and a culture change is difficult to achieve.

As a request to suspend works on the apartment block was not upheld by the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal, despite no objections from the applicant, the vociferous trio refuse to be demoralised by the signals the decision sent.

Corrine Zahra is one of three young Gozitans speaking out against overdevelopment.

Zahra said it showed the developer was not concerned about their action and the architect was already contacting residents to survey the neighbouring property as is the procedure before building starts – in this case, of 38 flats and basement garages for 61 cars, including the excavation of cultivated land, in accordance with PA/00085/21.

Zahra, who moved to Triq il-Qortin at the age of 10 and is a third-generation member of a family from the Nadur street, maintains the development would “completely shift its culture and environment”.

Insisting it is “out of proportion”, she fears it would set a precedent for the rest of the street and for Gozo overall, bringing in owners likely to leave the flats empty most of the year.

“This is personal,” Zahra said about her battle for the place her mother was raised in, saying the objectors felt isolated even in their own community as they stand up to developers.

‘I am not stopping’

“My parents are not happy about the situation, but they do not understand and are scared to speak out against the big boys with lots of money, fearing intimidation and bullying.” This does not scare Zahra, however, who has become used to receiving snide remarks and is “told to shut up all the time”.

The local council had opposed the development but took no action, she said about the predominant “no-protest culture” in Gozo. “But I am not stopping! Otherwise, it would be on my conscience, and I believe in the cause even though there is nothing in it for me.”

Buttigieg too remains resilient, maintaining that the tight-knit families in the area will fight to the bitter end. He insisted the land was stolen and that his family and others were defrauded of their property.

Jamie Buttigieg says the land was stolen from local families.

Leading the charge, they would, if necessary, move on to the Courts of Appeal and the Constitutional Court, he said.

In 2021, the trio had drummed up over 1,300 objections to an initial application, which would have seen more apartments being built. But the project was still approved by the Planning Commission in December on the basis that the revised plans had been “considerably downsized in scale and massing”.

The commission noted that the applicant, Titan Developments Ltd, and its architect Ray Demicoli, had addressed concerns about the height of the project, with receded floors creating a better terracing effect.

The scaling down has, however, not appeased the objectors and it is maintained the Qortin development will obliterate views, eat away at precious farmland, cause sewage to run into the crops and the water table, as well as massive parking issues.

Jamie as a child, walking on the land he is now fighting to protect.

The PA approved the block without proper studies on parking, lack of drainage systems, pollution, residents’ quality of life, ownership and emergency service access, they maintained.

The case was considered even more serious as the land did not belong to the developers, but to locals, whose ownership deeds go back generations, Buttigieg said.

“I love nature; I do not want to see flats and I prefer a green lung. If it is my right, I will be sure to take it!

Country of impunity

Times of Malta had reported that Nadur and Qala residents had been approached to pay hefty sums of money for their property, as a land-ownership dispute – unwittingly sparked more than 300 years ago – resumed.

In 2020, a foundation, the Benefiċċju Lajkali ta’ Sant’ Antonio delli Navarra, claimed ownership of the land and registered it in its name, sparking outrage and despair among residents.

“In this country of impunity, the last thing you can do is keep silent and be like sheep,” Buttigieg said. “Impunity has to stop and if we have a problem, we have to speak out about it,” the 22-year-old urged. If people started speaking up before the construction boom had exploded, “we would have been in a better place now”.

Asked if he felt they were a lone voice in the wilderness, Buttigieg admitted they got moral support and everyone agreed with them, but when push came to shove, omertà took over. “If you say you are a lawyer in Gozo, you can do what you want,” he commented about the locals giving up when facing people in legal professions.

Taking on Goliath

Activist group Moviment Graffitti had opposed the application, saying it would lead to an overnight transformation of a quiet countryside road.

The cause is also being supported by environment NGO Flimkien Għal Ambjent Aħjar, which described them as “the real Davids taking on Goliath on their own”.  FAA expressed its “disgust that groups like these young residents, NGOs and the public are obliged to spend their time and funds opposing the Planning Commission’s collusion with speculators”.

An appeal fund, aimed to revoke the development that did “not belong in Qortin Street”, would also be used to cover legal costs and to fight the case in court.

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