In the wake of last week's apartment building collapse in Paceville, St. Julian's Mayor Guido Dalli has urged authorities to take immediate action on development control, emergency preparedness, and infrastructure coordination.

Speaking to The Malta Independent, Dalli described the current state of the town as "a jungle" and stressed that the locality has reached a tipping point.

Mayor Dalli confirmed that he was present on-site shortly after the incident, which displaced multiple residents and triggered widespread concern over building safety.  Nobody was injured in the collapse, but a potential tragedy was averted with the evacuation of 32 residents some hours prior to the collapse.

"We were trying to find a place where the evacuees could stay until 2am," he explained. In coordination with the Building and Construction Authority, he visited nearby properties, including a language school, to identify temporary accommodation options. Civil protection and ambulance services were mobilised, and the demolition process proceeded under tight organisation.

However, Dalli acknowledged that he has not returned to the site in the past two days. He stated that while he had spent considerable time at the scene during the initial emergency and demolition phase, his focus has since shifted to broader planning and policy issues affecting the town.

In recent days, St. Julian's has experienced several unrelated incidents that Dalli says are symptomatic of larger systemic issues. He highlighted severe traffic congestion between San Ġwann and Paceville, overpopulation, and growing pressure on local services. "The more people come in, the more incidents we're seeing. St. Julian's is a jungle right now," he said.

During a local council meeting held on Monday, the mayor supported a motion concerning the implementation of a carrying capacity study across Maltese localities. The proposal, originally introduced by the Nationalist Party, aims to quantify the maximum population, activity, and traffic a town can sustainably handle. Dalli insisted that such a study is no longer optional for St. Julian's, as it is currently stretched beyond its limit.

Following the meeting, the council intended to escalate the issue directly to the minister, calling for a comprehensive plan tailored specifically to St. Julian's. Dalli warned that without such a strategy, the council risks losing control over development pressures, especially in areas like Paceville where permits, construction, and trenching works often overlap chaotically.

"We issue around 30 permits a month. Most roads are closed, then you have Enemalta trenching-and suddenly we can't issue anything. Now everyone wants permits again," he explained.

The mayor called on the government to convene stakeholders including business owners, police, and residents to chart a sustainable future. "Unless a miracle happens and someone really starts tackling this, nothing will change," he said. He emphasised that time is running out for piecemeal solutions and warned of the consequences of continued inaction.

The recent collapse and the subsequent fallout have only reinforced the need for coordinated, long-term planning, the mayor said.

For Dalli, the events of the past week serve as both a wake-up call and a final warning: St. Julian's cannot keep absorbing pressure without a serious rethink of its planning model, infrastructure limits, and emergency readiness.