Qaliet residents repeatedly exposed to noise and dust pollution – AD

Alternattiva Demokratika said St Julian’s local council was neglecting the rights of residents in Qaliet in relation to overdevelopment. The party also presented Yvonne Arqueros Ebejer as a candidate for the local council.

Ebejer, also AD’s deputy chairperson, said Qaliet residents have exposed to overdevelopment and are being exposed to noise pollution, constant dust pollution due to endless construction works.

“All this causes health problems such as asthma and stress. Sometimes one can hardly walk in parts of this area, let alone use a bicycle, a pushchair or a wheelchair,” Arqueros Ebejer said.

She said that AD cared about the persons’ well-being and, it being their priority and main concern, wanted to highlight what the residents have been going through. 

“If elected in St Julian’s Local Council next March I will give priority to residents' rights which are being trampled upon by overdevelopment,” she added.

AD chairperson Michael Briguglio reiterated that the residents have been suffering constant stress and discomfort, resulting from overdevelopment in the area.

“Construction is on-going on various sites, and the area is already overdeveloped especially due to the Portomaso development, which has been developed in excess of its original approval in 1995,” he said.

Briguglio added that developers are now proposing an extra 46 apartments on an artificial lagoon between Spinola road, the edge of the marina and the foreshore.

“This totally disregards the Environment Impact Assessment of the project which had called for protection of the area in question. The developers were responsible for the conservation of the two species (Wedgefoot Grass and Maltese Sea Camomile), one of which has already disappeared.”

Meanwhile, AD’s spokesman Carmel Cacopardo recalled that AD is in the process of identifying its candidates for the 2012 local councils elections. In fact, AD will continue introducing its candidates through press conferences organised focusing on local issues.

“AD believes that local councils are not doing enough in standing up to overdevelopment which is rampant throughout the islands,” Cacopardo said. ‘By focusing on this issue we want to convey the message that the environment matters if we want our communities to enjoy a decent quality of life.”