Valley Road reservoir could become football pitch

One of the last patches of greenery along Valley Road in Msida is under threat after government agency Sports Malta presented plans for the construction of an 11-a-side football ground instead of the 1,861sq.m reservoir, which has surrounding greenery and farmland and a small car park.

The football pitch, which will include a bar and cafeteria as well as changing rooms and other facilities, will occupy a 5,900sq.m footprint on a 7,719sq.m site.

The plans which spill over on agricultural land behind the reservoir, with a smaller 470sq.m reservoir built.

While the large trees facing the road will be retained and new trees will be planted, a number of existing trees and shrubs will be uprooted.

The Environment and Resources Authority has already objected to the plans, warning that these will result in the take-up of undeveloped rural land outside development zones, and in greater noise and light pollution. The ERA said the proposal was directly adjacent to a busy main road and within the Msida valley system, which is prone to flooding.

Valley Road is already facing a number of environmental threats. The Planning Authority recently turned down an application by the Infrastructure Ministry for the construction of a parking area instead of an another soakaway reservoir along the same road.

The ERA also expressed concern on the uptake of 480sq.m of a Valley Road field, adjacent to the proposed football ground currently used for agriculture to accommodate the proposed flyover in Msida.

Plans were also submitted for the development of 13, five-storey blocks on an 18,750sq.m site of terraced fields and trees set between Valley Road – behind the Charles Grech outlet – and Triq Indri Grima in Swatar. The land was added to development zones in the infamous extension of boundaries carried out in 2006.

A year ago, another private developer had proposed an 11-storey commercial project next to a public staircase in one of the last remnants of the valley. The application was later suspended after objections by the Superintendence for Cultural heritage, ERA and the Msida and Santa Venera local councils.