The Gzira Local Council has filed a judicial protest against the MIDI consortium demanding public access to the foreshore on Manoel Island.
MIDI plc had been granted a concession to develop a number of projects on Manoel Island, including a ‘Mediterranean-style’ marina village, a yacht marina and a waterfront casino.
In exchange, the consortium, which is also behind the Tigne Point project, was bound to restore the 18th century fort.
In its judicial protest the council said MIDI plc had blocked off access to the foreshore in the course of works. Mayor Conrad Borg Manche and Executive Secretary Michael Portelli argued that the foreshore was excluded from the June 2000 concession. They demanded that residents be given access to the foreshore within three days of filing the protest.
The protest was signed by lawyers Edward Woods and Keith Borg.
The MIDI consortium was quoted by a section of the media as saying that turning the foreshore into a free-for-all swimming zone was out of the question as it could “open the area up to vandalism and drug abuse.”
In the meantime, Alternattiva Demokratika Chairperson Arnold Cassola lauded the Gzira council and insisted that the foreshore is “Taghna Lkoll.”