There was a collective sigh of relief last Thursday when the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal closed the Hondoq chapter, at least for now. Only the developers were disappointed with the outcome; they had been hoping for a different result.

The EPRT turned down an appeal filed by developers Gozo Prestige who had proposed a massive project in one of the few remaining picturesque places in the country. The application was for a marina and a whole new village that would have come along with it.

It was a saga that spanned 20 years, the last five of which were dedicated to the appeal stage after the project had already been refused by the Planning Authority.

That both the Labour Party and the Nationalist Party issued statements expressing their satisfaction that the appeal was rejected go a long way to show the extent of the opposition that there was to the project. Having said this, both the PL and the PN must carry part of the blame that the idea for the project materialised and that then it dragged on for so long.

It was a PN government, in 2006, that changed the status of Hondoq Bay from one that was listed in the Gozo Local Plan as Outside Development Zone land to one which could be considered for “tourism and marine-related development”. Four years earlier, a first planning application for a marina, together with a 195-bedroom hotel and 300 apartments, had already been filed.

The PL in government since 2013, left Qala mayor Paul Buttigieg, who was elected on its behalf, to fight a long and hard battle, single-handedly except for the support that he mustered from environmental NGOs and the independent media. He should be given great credit that the project did not come to be.

It is no surprise that, soon after the project was rejected, Buttigieg told this media house that he nearly cried. His job had been arduous and he personally suffered the consequences of the strong stand he had taken against the plan, but in the end he won. With him, Malta and Gozo did too, but he was the one to stick his neck out.

What he is suggesting is that the land in question should be again declared as an Outside Development Zone, that is an area where no development could take place. He would also like to see it converted into a national park.

It would not be a bad idea.

This was one massive win for the environment, but one shudders to think about what has happened in other areas in both Malta and Gozo since the Hondoq saga started 20 years ago.

Just look at what happened in a bay, on the other side of the sister island over the last 10 years, not 20, to get an idea. Xlendi Bay was once an idyllic site, but it has been literally destroyed by over-development in the surroundings. Blocks upon blocks of apartments have been built and continue to be built, and there seems to be no end in sight.

The same can be said for Marsalforn, another part of Gozo, which has witnessed enormous changes in the past decade or so, and many other areas in Malta, too. The expansion of the building footprint – upwards and sideways – has been unprecedented since 2013 and this has inevitably led to extra pressure on the infrastructure, not to mention the many eyesores that have sprouted in every corner.

Countless houses have been pulled down to make way for blocks of apartments and the list is set to grow. Apart from this, open spaces have been turned or are earmarked to be converted into building sites. In some instances, work started before the necessary permits were issued and, in many of these cases, the work that had been carried out illegally was later given the green light.

The rejection of the Hondoq application is a great win for the environment, but it should not remain on its own. It should be followed up by a better protection, by the relevant authorities, of what is left of our open spaces, natural habitats and the rest of the environment in general.

Malta has already lost so much in the past decade, and before that too, meaning that it is no longer as attractive as it used to be. Today, it is more like a concrete jungle than a charming island, both for the people who live here permanently, and for those who come over on holiday or for business.

Malta has unfortunately taken the uglification road. The Hondoq rejection has stopped the rot. Let’s hope that it will not be just a one-off.