The fate of the beautiful Ħondoq Bay will be decided on Thursday when the Environment Planning Review Tribunal decides on the pending appeal.

In a unanimous decision, the Planning Board had rejected the plans for a marina and intensive tourist village in June 2016, but the developer had appealed from this refusal.

The developers, Gozo Prestige Hotels, want to build a hotel and parking facilities as well as 25 villas, 60 apartments and 200 multi-owner properties at the site. After 20 years, the appeal is set to be decided.

“We hope that Ħondoq Bay will be preserved for those who love it and for future generations,” Qala Mayor Paul Buttigieg said. “Gozo needs to safeguard its natural capital and not become intensely developed and spoilt,” he continued.

The fight against the development of Ħondoq ir-Rummien started 20 years ago, when in 2002, the huge area was acquired from government by Victor Bajada’s Gozo Prestige, with a planning application to turn the area into a port and yacht marina along with a 195-bedroom hotel and 300 apartments was filed.

Back in 2006, under a PN government, the Cabinet had decided to change Ħondoq bay’s status in the local plan, from one where it was in Outside Development Zone (ODZ) as an afforestation to one which would consider “tourism and marine-related development,” all without prior knowledge of the Qala local council.

Buttigieg, who was elected to be the village’s mayor on the Labour Party ticket, believes that this was done to facilitate the huge project, and PL governments have yet to change its status back to ODZ, he had told The Malta Independent on Sunday in an interview last year.

Buttigieg has since fought against every proposed development in the area, facing threats to his position along the way, presumably from developers who are trying to put a bad name on him, he had said.

The wait for the decision has gone on for two years, with the Qala local council having only met the Planning Authority board twice in court during that duration.

After a new board was appointed upon discovery that the same PA board had approved a previous appeal done by the council, there has only been a site inspection which was to aid the board in understanding the case.

Buttigieg had said that he would never resign from his position even if there were to be any development on the bay, as to not give the developers any satisfaction.

Despite government declaring that there will be no development in the area, with the PL’s electoral manifesto pledging that: ‘A Labour government has always been clear regarding the safeguarding of Ħondoq ir-Rummien. We assure that this zone will not be developed in any way whilst we see that works will be done to make the bay a nicer place so it can offer a better environment for those who visit,’ Buttigieg had said that his mind will not be at rest until the area is officially declared as ODZ once again.

He had said that Ħondoq ir-Rummien should be given its original ODZ status back and be recognized officially with afforestation. Buttigieg had said that the bay is for the public, and not for developers’ use.

Ħondoq Bay’s fate now rests on the Tribunal’s decision to be made on Thursday.