Scrap model plane airstrip, residents tell government

Birżebbuġa residents have called for plans to develop a miniature airstrip in the Wied Żnuber area to be scrapped.

During a march organised by NGO Moviment Graffitti on Sunday morning, residents said the plans should be withdrawn, and the area designated as ODZ. The mayor of Birżebbuġa, Scott Camilleri, also joined the event and called for the protection of Wied Żnuber.

Plans for a miniature airstrip for model aircraft were announced on 12 February. The proposal called for the construction of an airstrip by the valley and cliffs of the area in an agreement between the government agency INDIS Malta and the model airplane association.

The proposed development atop Wied Żnuber had seen residents protest the development over environmental destruction and sound pollution.

Prime Minister Robert Abela had later come out saying the valley will not be touched.

It was also revealed last month that the Ħal Far Model Flying Association was allocated an area measuring 44,400sq.m for an airstrip in “close proximity to a Natura 2000 site”. The area is almost four times larger than the existing site used by the association.

The informative walk saw natural historians and history experts address the value of this place which consists of precious historic remains such as the prehistoric dolmen and the military shelter, as well as the protected fauna and flora of an increasingly endangered habitat - garigue and rock habits where rainwater ponds form.

The site is also adjacent to a Natura 2000 site where shearwaters nest and serves as a buffer zone between this protected site and surrounding factories.

In a statement, the NGO said the miniature airstrip will take up a large area of ​​land and pollute the entire area around the valley and the cliffs with loud noise and light.

“It is clear that such a project has no place in the zone and not only because of the land it will destroy but also because of its invasive impact on the whole area,” Moviment Graffitti said.

“Residents and associations are therefore calling on the Prime Minister to honour his word and ensure that no development takes place in Wied Żnuber and that the part around the bottom of the valley becomes ODZ. This necessarily means that plans for a miniature airstrip are withdrawn,” the NGO insisted.