Residents of Pembroke will be holding a protest on Wednesday on the theme ‘Do No Bury us Alive’, against the mega-development proposed for the former Institute of Tourism Studies site.

Those objecting to the proposed development by the db Group fear that Pembroke, Swieqi and St Julian’s are threatened by the construction which will “effectively bury people alive under the long shadows cast by a gigantic 37-storey tower and a 19-storey resort hotel, unlimited commercialisation, endless traffic and hazardous dust”.

Demonstrators will meet at 6pm in the square on Pietru D’Armenia Street and from there will walk to the ITS site. Organisers are encouraging the public to join in “so that the voices of residents and all those who are concerned with the state of our environment do not go unheard”.

The organisers have stressed that the initiative is strictly a non-partisan event organised by residents with the support of NGOs. Moviment Graffitti, Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar, Din l-Art Ħelwa, Nature Trust (Malta), Friends of the Earth (Malta) and activists in Kamp Emerġenza Ambjent are supporting the protest.

Apart from the existing traffic issues in the area, residents are concerned that the area’s infrastructure is not adequate to sustain the extra 7,500 daily car journeys into the area generated by the project.

The Environmental Impact Assessment for the project shows that waste will also be an issue, with the development expected to produce some 336,085 tonnes of waste during the demolition and excavation phase.

It will also generate a large shadow, affecting the amount of light reaching the area throughout the year, and will significantly change the character of Pembroke. In December, the shadow cast by the tower will reach the Reverse Osmosis Plant.

The group pointed out that the EIA had identified that the development could also have an adverse impact on Għar Ħarq Ħammiem and the Marina Natura 2000 Site Zona Fil-Baħar Fil-Grigal ta’ Malta.

Residents have also released a video outlining their concerns, which can be accessed on Facebook.

The protesters are also urging the public to file their formal objections to the project, which will be accepted by the Planning Authority until 25 May. They said that, as of yesterday morning, over 2,000 objections to the project had been submitted online to the Planning Authority and many others have been submitted as hard copies.