The University Students’ Council (KSU) will be holding a protest against the demolition of a former bookshop outside the university, which is to be replaced by an 11-storey hotel.
The hotel is set to be built on the site that used to host the Mireva bookshop, which sold textbooks and academic literature to students and university staff and photocopied millions of papers for years before shutting down some years ago.
Developer Mark Agius, known in his native Gozo as 'Ta’ Dirjanu’ and who has previously partnered with Gozitan developer Joseph Portelli, is asking the PA (through application 05079/22) for a permit to add another floor to the building, despite having already secured an additional two floors over-and-above the permitted maximum for the area in his original planning application.
The protest will be held on September 7 at 4pm at the University Quadrangle. KSU has invited staff, non-governmental organisations and the public to take part.
It encouraged students to pick up reused cardboards for placards from the KSU office.
The student organisation said it is in full agreement with the Planning Authority case officer that the project will negatively impact the area’s local plan and student life on campus.
"University will become suffocated by two major infrastructural projects that offer unaffordable and unsustainable options to students," KSU said.
"Whilst the addition of student accommodation is necessary, this should not come at the cost of sustainability and proper infrastructural planning in line with the amenities of the respective area."
The proposed development is located just outside the campus, a residential area designated as a student housing area in local plans, the case officer pointed in his report.
This means it must prioritise student-focused land uses, so the likes of bookshops or stationaries, and not hotels, which are deemed to be tourism-oriented projects.
No bookshops on campus
Following the development's announcement, many took to social media to express their disappointment at the application and at the fact that the university has no bookshops.
Replying to questions sent by Times of Malta, a university spokesperson confirmed that there are no bookshops on campus.
"Agenda (Bookshop) closed its doors in November 2021, and no bookshop is planned for the foreseeable future," the spokesperson said.
"Bear in mind most students have other options available today, and most people buy books through Book Depository."
He said the space used by Agenda will now be used for administrative and student services by the university.