New school to be built instead of planned park

A 7,000-square metre extension of the Salina National Park will not take place, as the land earmarked for the project is required for the development of a new primary school in St Paul's Bay.

The new school is seen as a necessity, which will cater for the growing population of the northern coastal town.

The application for the extension of the Salina national park, which was set to be discussed by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority board on Thursday, was withdrawn by the government as the land is now required for the construction of a new school. Plans for the extension had already been finalised and a case officer report was recommending the approval of the new park.

The planning application was dropped because of the "urgent need for the construction of a new primary school in St Paul's Bay in the same area," a spokesperson for the Ministry for the Environment revealed.

The decision to shelve plans for the extension of the Salina park was taken following an agreement between the Minister for the Environment and the Minister for Education and Employment.

The school is urgently required due to changing demographics in St Paul's Bay area.

Due to demographic pressures, the new school has to be in place by 2016. The current school cannot be extended to space limitations.

An aborted park

Salina's popular park was to be extended by about 7,000 square metres. 

The new park was meant to complement and diversify the recreational product  offered by the park inaugurated in 2008, set to provide a holistic recreational area which caters for all ages.

About 5,000 square metres were to be dedicated to landscaped areas and another 1,100 square metres allotted to parking.

The project involved the afforestation of the whole area, the installation of playing equipment for children of all ages, and the construction of a water stream leading to the central open space.

The park was to be accessible from a new car park accommodating 22 cars.

The site of the aborted park is located in J. F. Kennedy Road in an area known as Tal-Wileg close to Is-Salini and Kennedy Grove. Presently, the area consists of arable land and a few olive trees.

Flanking the other side of the same road is the existing Salina National. The exit of the park was to be located at Qawra Road.  

The first plans related to the project were presented to MEPA in 2011 but the project was announced to the public in January 2013 a few weeks before the general election. A case officer report recommending approval of the project was presented in January 2014. But the application was withdrawn on 5 February.

From fishing village to urban centre

The St Paul's Bay Primary School was inaugurated in 1956 to meet the educational needs of the children of a small fishing settlement and its satellite hamlets. Since 2005, the population in St Paul's Bay has grown by 23%, making the locality the third most populated in Malta, behind only Birkirkara and Mosta.

The school is now catering for the ever-sprawling settlements of St Paul's Bay, Bugibba and Qawra.

What was once a summer seaside resort has now changed into a popular residential area attracting people from other places all over the island. With the influx of foreign people settling in Malta, St Paul's Bay's primary has attracted a marked proportion of students of a foreign origin.

Today the school's population hovers around the 800 mark, with around 80 students coming from 20 different countries. The intake of students now contains marked characteristic of cultural, religious and social diversity.

In September, education minister Evarist Bartolo announced a new primary school to cater for the growing student population, with similar initiatives for Marsascala and Mosta, two other expanding localities. He said demographic changes may imply that some schools in prime sites could be closed down, which in turn could be used as collateral by the Foundation for Tomorrow's Schools when seeking bank finance to build new schools.