The funds were used to create a public garden in Mellieha and to embellish the village of Qala. It is part of Mepa’s continuing efforts to enhance and protect Malta’s natural environment and cultural heritage through a number of projects it is either helping to finance or is carrying out itself.
With the need for more recreational facilities for residents in the area, Mellieha local council decided to develop a public garden. Named Gnien l-Gholjiet, in Thomas Spratt Pjazza, the garden contains a variety of local indigenous trees and plants. The work was carried out in two phases – phase one included the excavation of rock from the site (retaining existing patches of garrigue), and the second phase included fabrication for the creation of a recreational area and landscaping.
Mepa financed Lm8,000 of this project, using funds which were made available through a “Planning Gain” that was required by Mepa as a condition for the permit granted to the Tumas Group for the development of a residential area in Mellieha Heights. A Planning Gain is a form of environmental compensation for an impact that may result from development that cannot be reasonably mitigated.
Patches of garrigue (xaghri) have been left in the garden. Garrigue was a familiar site sight in the Mellieha Heights area, which was dominated by this type of terrain up to the 1960s. Garrigue is a typical Maltese eco-system that develops mainly in exposed areas that have stretches of rough coralline rock with small, scattered pockets of soil. Garrigue is characterised by a large number of Mediterranean plant species including aromatic shrubs like such as wild thyme (saghtar).
The new garden also provides a habitat for a number of typical Maltese trees such as Aleppo pine (znuber), Holm oak (ballut), carrob (harrub), bay laurel (rand) and olive (zebbug). The vegetation in the garden is watered through an irrigation system fed by a well that was purpose-built underneath one of the planted areas. Mellieha Mayor John Buttigieg said that through this public garden “we accomplished two goals: to preserve what remains of the site’s garrigue and to provide Mellieha residents with a public recreational area.”
At Qala, Mepa financed the replacement of public benches along the perimeter of the important belvedere and an upgrading of the surrounding area. This project was funded through a Planning Gain required as a condition for the granting of a permit to develop four dwellings and underlying garages in the area. The work was carried out by Qala local council.
Through the EIPP scheme, Mepa is also currently financing various other projects around the Maltese Islands. These include the restoration of dilapidated historic buildings and monuments, the maintenance of derelict archaeological sites, tree-planting projects, the management of the natural environment, embellishment work and projects related to the marine environment