Sannat Mayor Philip Vella said that an urgent Council meeting was held yesterday, and the council will be seeking advice of experts before deciding whether it is in favour of the Ta' Cenc project or not.

He mentioned the low referendum turnout and said that it also needs to be taken into consideration. The experts, he said, would include the Council's advocate etc, and would also take into consideration statements made by the property owners, who were present during the emergency meeting, regarding statements that the area is private land.

"We always decide in favour of the residents," Mr Vella said.

As for the low turnout for the referendum, given that only 22% voted, he explained that this "could indicate that the project does not interest too many people, or that a number of people were only interested in a part of the project, rather than the whole package".

"We need to see whether what the owners said, that Ta'Cenc is really private land, is really the case".

The Mayor explained that during the meeting, the owners said that if the project does not go through, they could have to close off access to Ta' Cenc, as they need the project.

"The owners said they are willing to give this land to the public (through the Heritage Park) as long as the hotel extension occurs and that the 15 villas be built between the villas already present there".

"I asked them about public access to the site should the project go through, to which they said that everyone would have access. They also told me that the Heritage Park would be free of charge and when asked if, should the project go through, they would come back with further plans for more villas, they said that there are strict conditions in place to which they must abide".

Recently, developer Victor Borg said he is pleased with the outcome of the Ta' Cenc referendum held in Sannat last Saturday, saying that the result gives a strong indication that the "great majority" of the residents there are not against his plans. In his calculations, Mr Borg included the people who did not bother voting or could not do so on the day as showing support.

The consultative referendum on the proposed Ta' Ċenċ project held for Sannat residents had a somewhat low turnout of 22 per cent.

But from the votes cast, the 'no' vote was the clear winner, having secured 295 votes, against, with 126 votes in favour of the project, which contemplates the   development of a heritage park, a multi-ownership hotel and 15 villas.

Gozo PN MP Chris Said was asked about his position on the project, to which he said that his position on the Ta' Cenc development is same as the PN, that he doesn't object to the extension of hotel, but is against building the proposed villas .

"I would have preferred if the referendum was better publicised and that a more serious discussion occurred so that people knew exactly what they were voting on". He stressed that the referendum was a consultative referendum, but hopes that the result should be given weight when a decision is being taken by the Local Council as whether to support the project or not, as well as by the Planning Authority when it decides to take a final decision.

Gozo PL MP Franco Mercieca asked if he agrees or disagrees with the project, he said that he doesn't really have an opinion on the issue and that he hasn;t even seen the plans.