Flimkien ghal-Ambjent Ahjar and Ramblers’ Association of Malta note with relief the unanimous decision taken by the MEPA’s DCC Division A board members to refuse the Otters’ ASC development application at Marsalforn after the same club converted it to a commercial restaurant and lido. The development included further encroachment and excavation on the foreshore adjacent to the Otters’ clubhouse.

The NGOs appreciate that common sense prevailed among all board members thereby safeguarding public access along the coastline, retaining intact what remains of the coastal character of the area and preserving the centuries-old saltpans on this site.

At the same time the NGOs note that efforts are being made for the sensible removal of the scrapyard from its shameful illegal position at Wied Zembaq to a nearby industrial area where it will be suitably located. Such action will hopefully signal to those carrying out such activities that abuse will no longer be tolerated, and that residents have a right to a decent quality of life, while measures to protect Malta’s natural and cultural heritage are to be respected. The environment groups urge MEPA to put sense in their systems in order that repeated applications and appeals against enforcements will not allow illegalities and abuses to drag on endlessly.

In both cases the nation will be better served if common sense, that rarest of all senses, prevails.