NGOs divided over Ta' Cenc project

Flimkien Ghall-Ambjent Ahjar co-ordinator Astrid Vella won’t be taking a position on the development of 15 villas overlooking Mgarr ix-Xini until her organisation can study these plans in detail.

But fellow NGO Din l-Art Helwa has made it clear that it still objects to this development in principle, as no development at Ta’ Cenc is allowed in the Structure Plan except in the “vicinity of the hotel”.

On Sunday Astrid Vella was quoted in The Malta Independent on Sunday saying “the plans as presented would be acceptable if developers gave a guarantee that no further development would be undertaken”.

Vella was referring to plans shown to NGOs and villa owners attending an exclusive meeting with the developers last Thursday.

After the meeting, Vella told MaltaToday that according to an FAA rapporteur attending the meeting “the general feeling was that the plans are a significant improvement, with the Ta’ Kantra villas remaining the main problem, unless it can be guaranteed that there would be no further development”.

But contacted by MaltaToday on Monday, Vella insisted that these declarations were “our informal comments after the hearing”, and not FAA’s position on this issue.

When asked by MaltaToday how she could deem the development of 15 villas “acceptable”, when the Structure Plan strictly limits development in Ta’ Cenc to the “vicinity of the hotel,” Astrid Vella acknowledged that the structure plan sets very clear limitations on development in Ta’ Cenc.

“While it would be in everyone’s interest to come to an agreement that accommodates all uses of Ta’ Cenc in an environmentally-sustainable, holistic plan, one cannot overlook the fact that the Structure Plan sets very clear limitations on development in the Ta’ Cenc area.”

But FAA “cannot yet commit to an official stand on this issue as to date”, because the organisation has still not received copies of the latest plans, which have not been supplied yet”.

“Until we are in a position to study the new plans properly and establish whether the Ta’ Kantra site is within the Special Area of Conservation we cannot fully assess the developer’s proposals. Besides this, the issue still remains that this site is Out of Development Zone,” Astrid Vella told MaltaToday.

Architect Martin Xuereb claims that during last week’s meeting “the proposal was well received” and the prevalent concern, amongst those present, “was that they are given the assurance that this latest proposal, once realized, is adhered to; an aspect which MEPA will undoubtedly take into consideration during their assessment of this proposed development”.

DLH against the villas
Speaking to MaltaToday Din l-Art Helwa president Petra Bianchi expressed the organisation’s opposition to the proposal to build 15 new villas outside the development zone.

“Din l-Art Helwa has repeatedly stated that it is firmly against the building of any new villas outside the development zone at Ta’ Cenc.”

According to Bianchi, the Structure Plan envisages some development in the vicinity of the existing hotel at Ta’ Cenc.

“The proposed 15 new villas would lie in an area known as Ta’ Kantra close to Mgarr ix-Xini, an ODZ area which certainly is not ‘in the vicinity’ of the hotel. Any interpretation of ‘vicinity’ to include the area near Mgarr ix-Xini could imply that the entire site at Ta’ Cenc is in the vicinity of the hotel and open to some development, which would clearly go against the intention of the Structure Plan”.

Bianchi insisted that since the Ta’ Kantra area is outside the development zone “no new residential development is permissible”.

Speaking to MaltaToday, BirdLife spokesperson Tolga Temuge welcomed the fact that the developers have finally revealed their plans for the villa area overlooking Mgarr ix-Xini, something which they refused to do in 2008.

When asked whether this development is acceptable, Temuge insisted that it was still premature to take a stand because Birdlife has yet to see the digital copies of the plans.

“The villas are the main area of concern for us and we will be assessing the footprint and the environmental impact of this development before taking a definitive stance.”

This article continues in the MaltaToday Midweek