Anthony Gatt, a Swieqi resident, has sent a letter to Parliament’s Environment and Development Planning committee, complaining about the lack of consultation with residents on the Paceville master plan, his concern about “ambiguous plans” and land expropriation.
The letter, dated 31 October 2016, was addressed to the Chairman of the committee, PL MP Franco Mercieca, as well as the rest of the committee members. It was forwarded by the resident to this newsroom.
“We have read the master plan from cover to cover. Our family have lived in the area for decades, the first members of our family started living in the area in 1956 and still reside here to this day,” the letter read.
Mr Gatt wrote that the outreach to the general public as well as to the residents in the area has only been through a slick, feel-good and strong marketing campaign. The Planning Authority has not accepted to meet residents when the Local Councils have tried to organise meetings. This at least has been partly addressed through a meeting scheduled for 7 November. We question whether such a scale of a project only requires one meeting with the public?”
He raised a number of other concerns, calling the plans ambiguous, and said that there is a lack of understanding that the ramifications of this master plan will not only effect Paceville and surrounding areas of Pembroke and Swieqi, but also areas further out such as Madliena, Sliema, Gzira etc.
“The master plan states that this will take five years to build, this is very ambitious indeed. As Maltese citizens, we are not blind (or deaf) to what goes around us. The Pendergardens project has been going on for eight years and still has a long way to go; Mistra remains a ghost building; an unsightly hole is still present in Gzira, when this project was to start years ago".
"What will happen if construction starts and due to lack of funds stops? What guarantees will be made in order to ensure that a master plan will be fully implemented and completed to the same standards and specifications of the original plans?”
Mr Gatt also highlighted his concern that a number of private properties would need to be expropriated and queried as to who will pay for the upgrading of the infrastructure.
While his fears about the master plan are evident, he said that the fact a master plan has been drafted is welcome and is a step in the right direction. “We cannot deny that over the past years, development in Paceville has been sporadic and no efforts were made to ensure that development takes place within certain specifications and rules. This has resulted in a hodgepodge of buildings were commercial outlets have been allowed to operate in residential areas or areas very close to people’s homes”
He also positively noted the plan to upgrade the infrastructure “Foul smells being emitted due to blockage in the drains are a common occurrence, just walk by Baystreet, usually in the morning. The present infrastructure cannot bear any further development without being upgraded”.
Mr Gatt said that one must keep in mind that the area included in the master plan is a hub for commercial and tourism activities, but is also a residential area.
“Yes, a master plan is needed for the area, but not this master plan”. He believes that a master plan which looks at the area in a holistic way, which includes impact assessments on the environment, the social fabric of the area, infrastructure, geology etc is the way forward”.
“Finally, we need a master plan that has the Maltese people as well as the residents at heart and is not based on the developer’s needs only”.