I was appalled to read that the development of Ta’ Cenc has once again reared its ugly head. Very well timed for the summer break (when nobody is home and nothing gets done except condoning dodgy permits and licences) and the forthcoming elections when there are more important things to discuss (and favours to be distributed).

I understand that the number of villas/bungalows requested had been reduced; however, even one more villa in that area is one too many and another hotel is laughable. The Ta’ Cenc hotel is beautiful and extremely tastefully designed and decorated, however, it is rarely, if ever, filled to capacity and extensions and additions will not help attract more tourists. The competition from other parts of the world is simply too great. The only hope to attract more tourists to Gozo is to stop the building mania and concentrate on enhancing what is already available and to emphasise the many natural features which are so unique to the island, but that is another topic.

The cluster of existing villas overlooking Mgarr ix-Xini always seem to be unoccupied and many show signs of neglect. Does the island need another 38 villas with pools there? I am sure we would all love to have a beautiful villa in an ODZ overlooking a relatively undisturbed bay, but when the new villas are built it will no longer be undisturbed – the peace and quiet will be destroyed, and the bay will be full of sewerage. (A good excuse for building private pools). It appears that no real thought has been given to the environmental impact of such a development – where will all the sewerage be diverted to? Where will all the fresh water for the swimming pools come from? What sort of damage will all the building equipment and endless convoy of heavy trucks do to the flora and fauna, not to mention the residents of Sannat?

What I find so terribly sad is that a Gozitan could want to deface his birthplace in such a way. The developer was quoted by one of the local newspapers as saying, among other things, “I made my money in Gozo”; that is wonderful, but does it give him the right to milk the island some more? Isn’t it time that perhaps he gives something back to the island? One comes into this world naked and leaves the same way.

The time has come now for Mepa, the political parties, NGOs and owners of other sensitive properties (e.g. Ramla and Hondoq) to work together for the good of Gozo and not themselves. If the owners are not prepared to negotiate the return of the properties to the government, the government should expropriate such properties and turn them into nature reserves to ensure that their uniqueness as well as the wealth of flora and fauna are preserved for future generations of Maltese and Gozitans.

Lesley G. Kreupl

Gharb, Gozo/Mattighofen, Austria