“We have no details” about a project for a spa and boutique hotel in the area where a shooting range was originally planned in Mosta, the Jesuits provincial and Mosta mayor told The Malta Independent yesterday.

Jesuits Provincial Fr Patrick Magro, the Chief Executive Officer of Mount St Joseph Retreat House Stephen Scerri and Mosta mayor Edwin Vassallo learnt about the planned development of a boutique hotel instead of the former military barracks from a newspaper report.

Yesterday it was reported that a luxury spa and 30-room boutique hotel will be built and that discussions between the government and the private developer, Busbesija Group, are nearing conclusion. The plan is that the contract will be signed in the coming days.

Fr Magro and Mr Scerri said that they had no clue about what was being proposed instead of the shooting range, a story that was revealed by this newspaper last April. They said that, “they are looking forward to see the details of the project and what it is going to entail.”

Fr Magro and Mr Scerri told this newsroom that from what has been published, the footprint seems to be much smaller than that originally proposed for the shooting range. They added that they are glad that no shooting will be heard next to their retreat house.

The same was said by the Mosta Mayor Edwin Vassallo. When contacted, Mr Vassallo said that the Mosta local council got to know about this project from the media. “We are not against the development but once again the residents and the council were left out of the equation.” Mr Vassallo said that the local government needs to be at least informed so that any speculation raised by the residents will be answered. “We hope that in the coming days the government will tell us what the plans are so we will be able to communicate it with the residents”

Last April The Malta Independent had revealed that the largest shooting range complex in Malta was being planned next door to the Jesuits retreat house. The preferred bidders for each site were announced by Parliamentary Secretary for Lands Michael Falzon, and the Il-Busbesija site was set to be leased to U-Group. After a lot of pressure by the Jesuits, local council , Mosta residents and others, in July the government announced that the plans had been scrapped.

Commenting on the proposed 30 room hotel and spa in an area in an ODZ area in Mosta previously earmarked for a shooting range, Front Harsien ODZ called for full transparency, consultation  and for clear conditions imposed by government to prevent any present or future ODZ development outside the footprint of the site.  

“Since this is public land being handed to private sector we demand full transparency on plans and consultation involving local communities and general public. Developers should not hide behind rhetorical discourse like describing a hotel as a retreat house but should present their plans in full.”. 

The Front also called on the Government should also be transparent by publishing all  agreements with company and any agreements or contracts submitted in parliament. Any agreement should also exclude any development beyond the existing barracks and any expansion of the project in the future.

The Front welcomes the declaration by GP Borg Construction that the project will be limited to the existing barracks and no further  construction will take place but insisted on the publication of all plans.  

“The footprint should be restricted to the existing barracks and no odz land should be sacrificed for ancillary development including pools, pathways, car parks, infrastructure and other paved recreational areas. The traffic impact should also be studied in full, especially in relation to the site’s rural nature”. 

Front Harsien ODZ also insisted that local communities should be consulted in full on the best use of the site in question before a final decision is made on allocating land to private sector.