NGOs slam San Blas ‘abusive works’

Environment groups Flimkien għal Ambjent Ahjar, Friends of the Earth (Malta) and Ramblers Association said the illegal development taking place at San Blas, Gozo “gives rise to grave concern at many levels.”

The NGOs said that despite MEPA were first notified on the “abusive works” on 18 June, it only acted after the case was exposed in the press. Today MEPA stopped the illegal works and issued an enforcement notice after Gozitan developer Joseph Portelli erected metal structures and removed rubble walls in the scheduled area.

San Blas, the environmental organisations said, is Gozo’s only untouched bay as Marsalforn, Xlendi, Qbajjar,  Dahlet Qorrot, Hondoq Bay, Mgarr ix-Xini and even Ramla l-Hamra have been subjected to varying degrees of commercialisation due to over-development, slipways, boathouses, restaurants and kiosks.

“ The site has often been the target of illegal development in recent years; this alone should have made MEPA extra vigilant. The developer in question has also been responsible for unlawful uprooting of protected trees in the past yet his permit on that abusive site was still granted. This repeated closing of a blind eye strongly suggests that the authorities condone his abuse,” the statement said.

They added that the fact that the unsanctioned works happened on public land “makes the case more shameful.”

“What steps are being taken by the Lands Department?  It is hoped that the fact that MEPA and the Lands Department now fall under the same ministry does not mean that  the Lands Department will become party to the ‘promote development at all costs’ policy.”  

Noting the site’s status as an ‘Area of Ecological Importance/Site of Scientific Importance’, the NGOs added that “not only were abusive developments cleared last year, but an application to prune a tamarisk tree was refused; however MEPA now seems to be closing a blind eye to this high level of protection in order to accommodate one of Gozo’s most powerful developers.”

Moreover, they stressed “preservation of Malta and Gozo’s landscapes relies on agriculture and not on development. What is being done to assist farmers, or is it only developers who are receiving support?”

The NGOs also hit out at the failure of successive governments to deliver on the promise of turning Gozo into an eco-island and noted that Gozo’s economy depends on tourism and the island’s “unique characteristics are essential to the success of its tourist industry.”

“The authorities are now sacrificing Gozo’s economic potential for the benefit of developers, replacing the character that attracts tourists to Gozo by the over-development that is ruining Malta,” they said.