FAA, FoE, Ramblers & Qui-si-Sana Residents’ Association file joint appeal against Townsquare development

23^rd September 2016

ENGOs Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar, Friends of the Earth Malta and Ramblers Association Malta, with the Qui si-Sana Resident’s Association, have filed a joint appeal to the Environment & Planning Review Tribunal against the approval of the Sliema High-rise TownSquare development.

The appeal was prepared by Dr Claire Bonello and Perit Carmel Cacopardo.

We have committed ourselves to defending the residents’ interests and will take all the necessary measures to protect and safeguard our shared environment.

We remind the public of the Planning Authority Chairman’s comments that this application was a case of over-development of an already congested area. The eNGOs maintain that it is high time that the issue of carrying capacity is studied, as conforming to development zone guidelines is no longer enough when the infrastructure of those development zones cannot even cope with the present load, let alone the increased pressure on roads, water, electricity and drains that high-rise projects generate.

Issuing permits for high-rise, high-impact projects without a holistic plan and without all the required studies, as was done in the case of the TownSquare project, can only result in further deterioration of our urban quality of life and residents’ health and well being.