Eco Gozo document blasts Gozitan appetite for construction

Appetite for construction: Gozitan hilltop villas are the bane of the islands ecological ambitions

Very generous social housing policies and easy credit have encouraged many to invest in "uselessly large" dwellings with poor architectural taste in Gozo, a document issued by the Gozo Ministry said.

The document 'An eco vision for Gozo' - a collation of the public consultation carried out on the Eco Gozo vision - delivered a damning view of the reckless planning policies of the past decades, condemning hilltop developments which have undermined the rural landscape on the sister island.

It is also hits hard on the architectural tastes of Gozitans for their "untutored adoption of architectural styles to demarcate their territory and assert their presence in the street, without any concern at all for the integrity of the street scape."

The large size of Gozitan dwellings has turned housing into "a voracious over-eater of finite resources such as land, building materials from quarries located in sensitive areas and energy."

A more pointed observation is that the size of Gozitan dwellings has grown over the years as a result of capital invested in Gozo by emigrants, returned migrants, attractive mortgage packages and the improper implementation of social housing policies.

While highlighting the social importance of home ownership policies, the document questions their impact on both countryside and urban landscape.

It also criticises commercial developers for showing little if any concern for the quality of architecture, mainly consisting of speculative development which found a market among tourists or Maltese residents seeking second homes in Gozo.

This has contributed to the development of inappropriately designed apartment blocks meant for short-term visitors or second homes.

"While such new residents would like to see Gozo's rural character preserved for their pleasure, their demand has given rise in Gozo to a building type which has already caused harm in the Maltese and Gozitan urban fabric."

Even public infrastructure is deemed to be lacking in design. The document blames low standards in the public procurement system, which penalises bidders for investing in good quality due to pressures on tender evaluators to award contracts to the cheapest bid.

James Debono is MaltaToday's chief reporter on environment, planning and land use issues, ...

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First why not talk about the destruction taking place all over Malta. Second, yes in gozo there was a lot of mismanagement and destruction and the authorities turned a blind eye on how our little towns grew into appartments and flats that are eyesores and are simply sitting emmpty. Finally, as to the comments on the Nadur cemetary, why not pick on useless waste of land as the racecoruse at ta Xhajma and so much destruction in the Qala road and xewkija of having pure virgin land turned into big eyesores instead of the small piece of land that is being turned into the Nadur Cemetary. The Nadur Cemetary is a need for the population of Nadur. So please, hands of on the Nadur Cemetary. It our right to have a decent cemetary at Nadur

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In Gozo we need some one serious, when it comes to ECO,Gozo is worst than 50 years ago,what ECO, whom they thing they are foolin,PN was always the majority in Gozo ,but this time is the end of the PN in Gozo,We want a government that likes Gozo.

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In Gozo we need some one serious, when it comes to ECO,Gozo is worst than 50 years ago,what ECO, whom they thing they are foolin,PN was always the majority in Gozo ,but this time is the end of the PN in Gozo,We want a government that likes Gozo.

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Eco-Kummidja min fuq dahar l-Ghawdxin f'konfoffa wahda l-hames deputati. Qazzistu Ghawdex u Santa Rita gabitu mitt sena lura. "Hobs il-biezel kielu l-ghazzien". Kull hadd jirregistra, il-bazuzli ma huma qatt hames minuti fuq xoghlhom mal-gvern(bazuzli homor u blu alltogether), dak li hu semplici dritt fondamentali sar pjacir. U nhar l-elezzjoni telefonati mimlija rikatti u tehedid.

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What about the applications for Nadur Cemitery,Hondoq ir Rummien and Ramla arent` these enough to give us headaches .Give us a break we need space that we always had

Eco Gozo document blasts Gozitan appetite for construction

Very generous social housing policies and easy credit have encouraged many to invest in “uselessly large” dwellings with poor architectural taste in Gozo, a document issued by the Gozo Ministry said.