A controversial application to build such a plant in Wied Garnaw was rejected by Mepa’s Development Control Commission (DCC) in July, but the applicant has now requested the DCC to reconsider its decision.

The Save Wied Garnaw Action Group said in a statement that it allies itself with Santa Lucija local council in urging Mepa and the DCC to refuse the request to reconsider their decision.

All the reasons for the rejection of the application, as clearly stated in a report by Mepa’s own case officer, still stand, they said. Permitting a waste-sorting plant to be built in the middle of a fertile valley would ruin one of the few remaining open spaces in the south of Malta and make a mockery of the Structure Plan. This is particularly so when such a waste plant could easily be sited in one of the many vacant factories in industrial estates.

The action group also calls for the case to be concluded without delay. It points out that it took nine months for the original decision against the waste-sorting plant to be taken, during which time all the necessary research and deliberations were carried out. Residents should not be obliged to endure more uncertainty before their minds are finally set at rest regarding this threat to the future of Wied Garnaw.