This letter is my last desperate attempt to show my view and give voice to the concern of many residents of Gharghur regarding new developments being proposed in our village.

Our village is literally being ruined by many new developments, the majority of them in the village core. The latest one is a block of apartments being proposed in Triq Kromb il-Bahar (a road leading to the valley) from one side, and in Charlotte Alley from the other side.

This block of apartments’ original application had part of it outside the development zone. MEPA’s DCC board insisted that the development should be only in the development zone, and probably because of this reason, tomorrow, this development will be given the green light. What MEPA is forgetting is that these apartments will have to be accessed from an alley not wider than two metres, where there is no parking place and where traffic caused by these new apartments will be jammed, not to mention the air pollution and noise pollution that will be caused. What MEPA is forgetting is that this area is the oldest part of Gharghur, and these new apartments will be adjacent to houses that have been there for hundreds of years and were the first houses that were built in this village. What MEPA is forgetting is that just a few metres away from this new block of apartments there is the valley and there are also fortifications such as the Victoria Lines. What MEPA is forgetting is that these apartments will ruin the aesthetic view of this part of the village, where there aren’t any apartments or shabby blocks, but only houses, the majority of them being old houses of character.

This proposed development was also recommended to be refused by the case officer, not to mention the big number of objections that have been sent by residents and also by the Gharghur Local Council, of which I am the Deputy Mayor.

Only when this application and those similar to it will be refused will I start believing that we have an Environment and Planning Authority, and not just a Planning Authority that draws lines and gives permits only from lines and dots seen on plans, without giving any importance and getting concerned about the surrounding environment and the conservation of an old village such as Gharghur.

May I appeal to the board to be brave and refuse these types of applications. Only in this way will we be able to conserve villages such as Gharghur, and also protect our environment, something that MEPA should really care about.

Mark Azzopardi

Gharghur