Birżebbuġa residents, farmers and people keen on protecting Wied Żnuber said they are shocked at plans announced on February 12 for a miniature airstrip by the valley and the cliffs of the area. Plans for the airstrip were announced at the signing of an agreement between the government agency INDIS and an airplane model association, the NGOs said in a statement.

We are determined to oppose the plan until it is scrapped, the NGOs said.

The project was concocted in secret and escaped public consultation but is expected to have major environmental and social impact. Official plans have not been published and an application for development is yet to be filed but indications are clear that the airstrip would cover 44 acres of natural and agricultural land; the equivalent of seven football grounds. The proposed site being a garigue would also require extensive landfills to accommodate a long tarmac strip and clubhouse.

The loud and incessant noise of model remote control airplanes would drastically increase light and noise pollution in the area and destroy the serenity of the valley and surrounding cliffs.

It is deeply disturbing to witness the hashing out of such a project in close proximity to a Natura 2000 site, known to the authorities as ecologically sensitive and home to many protected animals and vegetation. The model airstrip would only be a stone’s throw away from the breeding ground and nesting cliffs of Scopoli’s and Yelkouan Shearwaters, protected colonies of birds, which are very sensitive to light and noise and are threatened species.

The site is also home to a number of historical remains including a dolmen, a military shelter, ancient water canals and prehistoric recipients used in burial rites. Under British rule, the site was fenced off to protect the dolmen.

This plan will adversely affect farmers. Some farmers who till land on the site have received notice to vacate, while others would face the ongoing danger of models aircrafts flying overhead.

In light of this, we emphasise that the airstrip project is unacceptable because it will destroy virgin land and disastrously impact the surrounding area. We respect the hobbyists concerned but see no justice in a project that will hurt residents and farmers and unleash extensive damage on the environment. We also believe that alternative sites may be found for this project to take place with least negative impact on the people and the environment.

The site in question is cited in the Local Plan as part of an industrial area. This does not reflect the true conditions of an area located right by the valley and the surrounding cliffs. All development applications on this site have so far also been rejected.

The south of Malta is burdened by overdevelopment negatively impacting the environment, open spaces and quality of life. This project will continue to burden the south by robbing it of the ecologically sensitive and socially important sites of Wied Żnuber and surrounding areas. We therefore call for the immediate dissolution of the plan and a change in the Local Plan that would see the site become an ODZ. In this manner it can act as buffer between the industrial area and Wied Żnuber.

 

Organisations participating in the Press Conference:

Għaqda Storja u Kultura Birżebbuġa

ŻAK Birżebbuġa

12th Birżebbuġa Girl Guides

Moviment Graffitti

BirdLife Malta

Din l-Art Ħelwa

Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar

Friends of the Earth Malta

Extinction Rebellion Malta

The Archaeological Society Malta