Prime Minister Robert Abela pledged that, in the coming weeks, the government will begin to make changes to the planning laws to ensure that Hondoq ir-Rummien in Gozo will not be developed.

Abela delivered this message during a visit he made to Hondoq, accompanied by Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri and Qala Mayor Paul Buttigieg.

The Appeals Court, last week, confirmed the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal (EPRT)’s decision to reject an appeal filed by a developer to overturn the Planning Authority’s refusal of a development project in Hondoq ir-Rummien, Gozo.

This put an end to a 22-year environmental battle which was spearheaded by Labour mayor Buttigieg.

Abela had already said that the government is analysing what changes need to be made to Malta’s planning laws in order for Hondoq ir-Rummien to be “permanently” protected from development.

The plan is to undo what was done back in 2006, Abela said, when a change was introduced to the local plan which allowed considerable development to be done in Hondoq.

This is another decision that the government is taking to preserve Gozo that is in the interest of Gozitan families, Abela said.

Abela added that decisions taken by the Planning Authority and by the courts from 2013 onward have rejected this development, but currently, there is nothing that prevents another application for development in Hondoq.

Abela said that this government has always remained consistent against development in Hondoq and he thanked Buttigieg for his tireless work to defend Hondoq from development.

Lastly, Abela noted how the government had invested €11 million to give Gozo its first Reverse Osmosis plant at Hondoq.

The PN, in a statement, said that Hondoq should be given to the public by being elevated to the grade of a national park.

“What the government did over the past hours is just theatrics, as the solution it offered is not an assurance. What the PN has long been proposing, that the zone be turned into a national park, is a true assurance that the natural environment at Hondoq ir-Rummien will be protected.

According to existing laws, the area already cannot be developed, and this was confirmed by the courts, the PN said.

The environment and the Maltese people don’t need theatrics and shows by the government, the PN said.