“I am very happy”, Qala Mayor Paul Buttigieg said in reaction to the new policy announced by the Planning Authority last Wednesday.

The Planning Authority (PA) has initiated the process to amend planning policies outlined in the 2006 local plan for Gozo and prohibit any form of development within the area of Ħondoq ir-Rummien in Qala Gozo. The Authority is proposing that in the future the site should only be used for an afforestation project.

“I thank the authorities and the Prime Minister (Robert Abela) for keeping their word,” Buttigieg said.

The area of Ħondoq ir-Rummien, which is one of the Maltese island’s most scenic and pristine areas, boasting unparalleled views of Comino and the Fliegu Channel, has been under constant ‘threat’ of being developed.

As far back as 2002, an application had been submitted for the construction of a destination port and 195-room hotel, 200-yacht marina and a tourist village for 300 apartments. The approved 2006 local plan encouraged “sensitively designed, high quality and low density buildings that blend into the landscape”. Ħondoq was also identified as the site of a “destination port”. In 2016, the PA unanimously refused the application and cited that the proposed development was in breach of the Strategic Plan for the Environment and Development (SPED). Recently, this decision was also fully confirmed in a Court of Appeal sentence.