AD react to Mistra permit

Alternattiva Demokratika chairperson, Arnold Cassola, said that yesterday's granting by MEPA of the new mega development in Mistra proved that, regardless of which political party was in government, environmental concerns such as noise pollution and air quality, would keep on being neglected. 

"The approval of such projects proves that whether it is a Nationalist or a Labour administration there is no political will to give the Maltese a better quality of life regarding noise pollution, air quality and traffic management," he said. 

Yesterday afternoon, after a three-hour-long hearing at the MEPA Headquarters, the MEPA board decided in favour of granting a new 15-floor mega development in place of the old Mistra Village. 

The decision drew strong criticism from various NGOs, who argued that despite the fact that the project had been downscaled from having 992 residential units to 774 units, it was only a "slight improvement on a bad past project". 

Whilst Cassola said that AD had always been against the development, he said that such a project will mean that the Maltese "are destined to live the rest of their lives three hours daily jammed in traffic congestion."

Meanwhile, Carmel Cacopardo, the Deputy Chairman of AD and Spokesperson on Sustainable Development and Home Affairs, said that the writing had been on the wall for some time. 

He said that whilst AD had always been outspoken on this type of mega-development, the political parties elected to parliament were clearly not as concerned. 

"We expect to have many more of these decisions as the current government, like its predecessor, considers that the building industry requires its support. The rights of residents to be protected from the impacts of over-development have been discarded long ago," he said.