Citizens worried about plans to build 12-storey blocks at Mistra Bay have sprung into action after the St Paul’s Bay local council declined to oppose the project.
The group of citizens and residents have four days to raise the €7,350 needed to fund an appeal against the project, and have turned to the public to donate to the cause.
Filing an appeal against the project is expected to cost the group €3,550, with a further €3,500 to €3,800 going to an environmental lawyer who will be tasked with arguing the case.
“If we do not collect the amount needed to file the appeal by February 24, we will refund the amount donated in full,” the group said.
Plans to build 744 residential units at the former Mistra Village site were revived last year, having previously fallen by the wayside. They were approved by the Planning Authority last month.
Developer Charles Camilleri submitted the application on behalf of Gemxija Crown Ltd, a joint venture between a group of Kuwaiti investors and local firm JPM brothers that was behind the original plans for the site.
The environmental regulator opposes the plans, with ERA chairman Victor Axiaq having cited concerns about noise and air quality.
“This project will only bring traffic and congestion and bury us in darkness,” one of the residents told Times of Malta. It will be the final nail in Xemxija’s coffin.”
Local councillors fail to attend urgent meeting
The St Paul’s Bay local council was due to discuss the Mistra development at an urgent meeting held last Monday, according to a meeting agenda published on its website.
That discussion failed to materialise, with not enough councillors showing up for the meeting to satisfy quorum requirements.
Mayor Anne Fenech told Times of Malta that three councillors were abroad, with another five unable to make the last-minute meeting.
She declined to say whether she backed or opposed the project, saying she did not feel comfortable speaking about it without having discussed it with her fellow councillors first.
“This project has been on the cards since 2008, previous councils had plenty of time to discuss it if they had wanted to,” she said.
The local council’s website does not include minutes of Monday’s meeting, with the last uploaded minutes being those of a meeting held in late November last year.
A resident involved in the appeal had some stinging words for the local councillors who had failed to show up.
“It’s like some councillors are secretly in favour of the project but they don’t want to look like they are,” he said.
Donations are accepted via Paypal to mistraprojectappeal@gmail.com or else via Revolut by getting in touch with Priscilla Grima.