Dear Sir/Madam,
Flimkien għal Ambjent Ahjar welcomes the Planning Authority’s decision to unanimously refuse the application to build a home for the elderly in the quarry at Wied il-Għomor, one of the few remaining unbuilt areas between Swieqi and San Ġwann.
At the MEPA hearing FAA expressed its shock that the Case Officer report recommending approval of this application referred to quarry regulations allowing such a development, but failed to quote environmental and ecological regulations which gave extra protection to this valley as an Area of Ecological Importance and Site of Scientific Importance. FAA fails to understand how the Case Officer could recommended approval of the permit since the Resources Authority refused it in view of the fact that the permeable Coralline limestone of this valley feeds the nearby aquifer.
The SPED policy also stipulates that development should not encroach on Out of Development Zones where alternatives are available, therefore the recommendation should have been to refuse since since alternatives are available.
Finally FAA asks how come the Planning Report failed to take the residents’ and end users’ interests into account when the Planning Authority’s remit is : “to secure a balanced and sustainable environment for our community and provide a better quality of life”. The proposed development violates Malta’s National Health Systems Strategy 2014-2020 : “there will be increased focus on empowering and encouraging communities to become more involved in the provision of informal care in the community and as near as possible to where people are residing and working.”
This development would have set a precedent leading to the building of the whole valley, impacting the residents with loss of open space, increased traffic and pollution, while isolating the elderly. It is augured that this decision will lead the way to more consideration of communities’ well-being at the Planning Authority.
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