In a controversial application that has been before the Malta Environment and Planning Authority for years, the authority will hear a fresh appeal by the proposed developers on Tuesday, after new plans replacing the proposed yacht marina with a swimming lagoon were turned down.
In March, a group of NGOs – Moviment Ħarsien Ħondoq, FAA, Ramblers, Nature Trust, Wirt Għawdex, Friends of the Earth Malta, Din l-Art Ħelwa and GUG –slammed the latest version of the controversial proposal submitted in that it went far beyond the footprint of the original application to include the footprint of the defunct reverse osmosis, or desalination plant, located on the right hand side of the bay.
That land, the NGOs said, was public property and the developers have proposed the construction of a public car park in the facility’s stead.
Saying they “feel very strongly about the site being handed over for speculative purposes” in a joint statement, the organisations feel that the developers will, if the land is or has been transferred, gain additional area for the project which falls outside the project’s original footprint.
In another twist to the long-running tale, Opposition leader Joseph Muscat, on a recent visit to Gozo, had pitched the concept of transforming the dilapidated building into new facilities, including an indoor swimming pool.
Dr Muscat said the plan, following consultations with nearby Qala residents, would be to demolish what is effectively quite an eyesore spoiling one of the country’s most picturesque bays, to make way for a new facility, on the same or a smaller footprint, to house an indoor swimming pool and fitness centre, public toilets and changing rooms as well as a restaurant and cafeteria.
“The buildings would be designed and constructed in such a way as to make them harmonise with the natural habitat of the bay. The design would also ensure that the highest environmental standards are met, making use of recycled material, recycled aggregate, recycled concrete, geo-thermal energy and photovoltaic panels for energy,” Dr Muscat said.
Ħondoq ir-Rummien’s chequered planning history began with the 1969 government expropriation of Hondoq Quarry, including the site of the reverse osmosis plant, in order to provide stone for the Mgarr breakwater, the eight NGOs recalled.
They said that in 1988, Gozo Prestige Holidays had entered into a ‘promise of sale’ with the previous owners, the Augustinian Brothers, depending on full development permits being acquired. That same year, the Qala local council also applied to convert the area into a National Park, but the high permit fees required by Mepa meant it was not feasible to continue at the time.
In June 2002, the land was returned to the Augustinian Brothers, excluding the site of the reverse osmosis plant. In July, the developers put in an application for the Qala Creek Project, despite the area’s ODZ status, and the NGOs claim the proposal violated the draft Local Plan published in June 2002, agreed upon by Qala local council and the Malta Environment and Planning Authority, which states: “The preferred use is to reclaim the area either for agricultural use or afforestation.”
The slightly modified Qala Creek development project was again presented to Mepa in January 2006, but it still ran against the draft Local Plan and ODZ status.
The opposing NGOs had said in March that, “This had been changed without the knowledge or approval of Qala local council or the public,” pointing out that the Local Plan now states: “The preferred use is to sensitively develop the area. Tourism and marine related development may be considered by Mepa.”
They had added, “Mepa’s Environment Protection Directorate (EPD) took three years to get a non-biased EIS of acceptable quality from the developers, until finally a ‘barely certifiable version’ was received. Subsequently, the EPD recommended the project’s refusal in mid-2011.
“Before the Mepa Board could give its final decision on the project, the developers withdrew the original proposal, and suggested a new one in late 2011, replacing the marina with a swimming lagoon, despite the developers previously insistence that the marina was essential to the project’s success.
“This proposal went beyond the footprint of the original application, hence Mepa requested that the developers submit a totally new application. The developers appealed against this, and the process is still ongoing.”