Qui-Si-Sana Residents Association recently handed over a petition signed by over 600 people to Professor Arnold Cassola, Secretary General of the European Green Party, to be presented to the European Parliament.

The petition is in protest against the projected underground car park and commercial areas at Qui-Si-Sana Gardens. This project, said the association, is deemed to be unnecessary and will have tremendous negative impact on the adjacent residential area and the coastline.

MEPA refuses to carry out any feasibility study or Environment Impact Assess-ment in relation to the project, an association statement said.

The PN majority on Sliema local council gives the strong impression that it is acting as a rubber stamp for the government by blindly accepting the project, it added.

The association felt it had no alternative but to appeal to the EU Parliament through this petition.

The association pointed out that while it is all in favour of a solution to the traffic and parking problem, this project will worsen both problems in the most congested areas of Sliema. It appeals to the council to call for a withdrawal of the project and for a fresh approach that will tackle the problem comprehensively, for the benefit of the whole of Sliema.