Five eNGOs said they are 'extremely concerned' that the Planning Authority has not refused an application for a swimming pool in the Marsalforn Valley, at the back of a seven-storey block of flats.

The five eNGOs are Din l-Art Ħelwa Għawdex, Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar, Għawdix, Moviment Graffitti and Wirt Għawdex. The NGOs said that the people behind the development are Joseph Portelli and his partners.

"The swimming pool at the side of the valley is not only destructive in its own right; being situated in the lush valley, it would also set a precedent that would be disastrous, as it would give other developments along the ridge grounds for swimming pool permits."

This point has already been made resoundingly by various objectors to the proposed development, including the Xagħra Local Council, the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage, and the Environment and Resources Authority, the statement read."

"The Planning Authority's own technical report also recommended refusal. Incredulously, however, the Planning Commission instead asked the developer to make minor tweaks to the plan, and will now decide on the application on Tuesday. If granted, this would set a new level of planning outrage when it comes to permitting development in sensitive Outside Development Zone areas."

After the political party elected to government promised in its manifesto to protect the peripheries of villages from destructive developments, granting a permit tomorrow would be politically damaging and send the wrong message, the NGOs said.

"It is crucial to translate promises into action, particularly in a case such as this one that should have already been refused given the obvious breaches of planning policies, the damage to natural habitats and valleys in Gozo, and the fact that the Planning Authority itself recommended refusal."

"The country cannot go on like this, falling to one low after another when it comes to development. It is outrageous that the Planning Authority still finds it so hard to protect sensitive landscapes situated in the supposedly protected Outside Development Zone even as the government itself promises to do so. This planning application should have never got this far in the first place."

"This also shows that the Rural Policy and Design Guidance of 2014, which provides the planning context for applications such as this swimming pool, has to be immediately amended to close any loopholes. The government had said it would reform this policy to close loopholes for developments in the countryside almost two years ago. But the promised reform has never been implemented."

The NGOs are also very concerned by the" feeble representation of the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA)."

"Although ERA has called for a refusal, we are dismayed that it is not insisting on the protection of the maquis habitat, which is comprehensively threatened due to the precedent that this proposed development would set. ERA is obliged to put up a more spirited and vigorous effort to protect such a sensitive habitat," the NGOs said.

The eNGOs will be making 'strong interventions' tomorrow in the latest Planning Commission meeting to emphasize the unacceptability of this planning application. In a previous meeting, the Commission deferred the decision on the application and the applicant's architect was requested to submit more detailed information and consider downscaling the proposed pool, among other things.