Disappearance of sensitive Wedgefoot grass paves way for Portomaso’s lagoon
The disappearance of the plant Sphenopus divarticus has reduced the ecological value of the last undeveloped site in Portomaso, thus paving the way for the proposed development of 46 apartments set on an artificial lagoon.
In 1995, before the original Portomaso development was approved, an Environmental Impact Statement called on The Malta Environment and Planning Authority to protect the area due to the presence of sphenopus divarticus (wedgefoot grass) and Artemis urvelleana (the Maltese sea camomile).
The EIA had stipulated that the developers were responsible for the conservation of the two species, one of which has now disappeared.
The area earmarked for development is located adjacent to the southern block of the Portomaso complex between Spinola road, the edge of the marina and the foreshore.
The EIS even suggested that the area should be granted Level 2 protection as an Area of Ecological Importance, which would have meant that no development would have been allowed.
While the Maltese sea camomile survives to this day, the wedgefoot grass was last recorded on the site in a survey conducted in 1999 but was not recorded in other surveys conducted.
In 1996, amid protests against the original permit, the developers enclosed this area with a fence on which notice said: “As part of the Hilton site redevelopment project, the site within this wall is being sealed off for the protection of important ecological species during project construction and will be reopened to the public.”
It was only in 2008 that the developers applied to develop this area. Subsequently, MEPA ordered them to present a new EIS conducted by ADI consultants.
But the new ecological studies found no trace of the wedgefoot grass.
The authors of the EIS attribute the disappearance of the plant to the fact that it “it is not a competitive species.”
But they claim that its seed could still be present but did not germinate this year due to “unfavourable conditions”.
For this reason, the EIS recommends that the top soil in the area known to have previously harboured the wedge foot grass is collected and stored, so that if seeds of this plant are found, these are reintroduced in another location.
The new EIS also diminishes the value of the area, claiming that it is composed of rubble dumped on the coast in the 1950s, which was slowly recolonised by plants.
But the EIS confirms that the Maltese sea camomile still grows in the interface between the area set for obliteration and the rocky coast.
According to the EIS, the lagoon will not be linked to the sea but will be filled by seawater extracted from boreholes.
The plans suggest that water will pass directly beneath the two storey high apartments, in a way that residents will be able to swim directly to their property, while having direct access to the lagoon.
The apartments will have glazed floors, with views of the lagoon underneath.
The 46 apartments will occupy a built-up area – 3,783 square meters – with a 1930 square meter lagoon. The lagoon will not be connected to the Portomaso Marina, as the quay will separate the two bodies of water, and neither will it have any direct connection to the sea.
The existing Portomaso site already includes 505 apartments, a 400-room hotel and a car park with 2,100 car spaces occupying a built-up area 28,191 square meters.
According to the developers, the project will enhance the surroundings, “give the area more value and provide a unique setting which will be an exclusive development in the Mediterranean”.
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