Sliema is fast reaching breaking point with three major projects – Midi, Fort Cambridge and Townsquare planned within 500 metres of each other, not to mention another one eventually on the Piazzetta site.

Other areas are suffering the effects of the new Local Plans that have raised the building height limitations, and made it much more profitable to demolish and re-build in Sliema without taking into account the need for light and air circulation or the town’s already high population density.

A Sliema spokesman stated: “This is destroying the peace of residential areas, destroying our heritage, depriving us of existing recreational open public areas, worsening our parking problem and diverting more traffic into our residential zones which will result in increased toxic fumes, further reducing our already deteriorating quality of life. This rampant over-development is contributing to many health problems, including the fact that our children have the highest rate of asthma in the Mediterranean. Other serious problems include the isolation of elderly residents, loss of privacy as well as damage to homes near building sites and sometimes even danger to residents’ lives.”

The situation will be made worse by ADT’s plans to alter the Ferries/Strand area by widening the traffic lanes, eliminating most of the parking spaces and turning it into a series of traffic roundabouts, which will be very damaging to the area.

These proposals are aimed at shifting the main Sliema shopping centre from its existing position to the new large development projects at Tigne, which will degrade the Ferries area and harm the local tourist economy that is the backbone of existing commercial activity.

“Sliema’s residents can no longer accept the rape of their town. Changes that only favour speculators are being decided with a total lack of consultation with residents, long-term planning, and vision or care for our well being and for our future. We are therefore launching a petition calling for residents to have a say in matters that concern us – our quality of life and our health.

“We urge Sliema residents to print the petition off our website: www.quisisana.org collect as many signatures as possible, and send it in by 1 December.