Xgħajra residents oppose proposed high-rise development

610 Xgħajra residents and property owners have signed a letter to the Planning Authority against the proposed high-rise development on the locality’s seafront, Moviment Graffitti said.

A further 204 individuals supported the letter.

“Residents were compelled to send this letter after the Xgħajra Local Council, led by Mayor Mr Neil Attard, performed an incomprehensible U-turn behind the residents’ back and withdrew the Council’s previous objection to the project via a letter secretly submitted to the Planning Authority. Whilst a majority of Council members had backed this bizarre decision, two Council members, including the Vice-Mayor, have now signed the letter of objection prepared and submitted by Xgħajra residents,” Moviment Graffitti said.

READ MORE: Xgħajra council makes U-turn on 15-storey high-rise

In the submission, residents listed numerous concerns related to the project’s impact on Xgħajra and beyond.

The development of three towers of 15 storeys each clearly jars with the context of the quiet seaside village. “This development would also see the building of hundreds of new residential apartments, leading to an overnight unsustainable increase in the population of the locality as well as pressures that the current infrastructure cannot handle.”

The NGO said the developers’ promises of a plaza next to the towers was meaningless for the locality that already enjoys “ample open spaces and spaces of natural beauty.”

It said the justification of the protection in terms of Floor Area Ration (FAR) policy was highly dubious since the proposed high-rise seems to breach multiple provisions of FAR policy.

The residents appealed to the authorities and the developers to ensure that any development in the area respected the people of Xgħajra and its natural and built environment.

Moviment Graffitti and Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar are supporting the residents’ demands.

The Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) and the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage (SCH) have already expressed their unfavourable view of this development.