Save Hondoq ir-Rummien – the continuing destruction of Gozo!
Published on The Malta Independent on the 20th of March, 2007 by Ms L. G. Kreupl
Please, will someone tell me why the inhabitants of this beautiful island and the Ministry of Gozo are allowing a few to rape and abuse what is left of it?
The last thing this island needs is another unsustainable concrete complex. The resources of this tiny island are already stretched to the limit.
Now, developers and speculators have, once again, their beady eyes on Hondoq ir-Rummien. A referendum was held in 2002 and 85 per cent of the Qala residents were against this “Qala creek development”. Now it appears that plans have again been presented to MEPA. Why have a referendum if the results are not adhered to or ignored. Hopefully this is not another ploy to get permits passed quickly in order to gain votes in the upcoming election.
For many years this cove has been a part of life for the people from the surrounding area, people who have taken advantage of the relatively easy access to the clear waters of the Mediterranean to take their children for an outing there – to paddle, swim and fish, or to collect snails, capers or whatever else was growing wild, as people still do today. Despite the fact that the area has been irrevocably damaged to a large extent by the quarry and the desalination plant, parts of it are, nevertheless, still relatively unspoilt and remain popular with the locals, and tourists who are lucky enough to find it. Unfortunately, it does need a lot of rehabilitation work carried out to try and undo some of the damage done in the past by unthinking or ignorant people. There are many options available, but they have to be very carefully considered in order to retain and enhance what is left of this beautiful cove.
Alas, this cove now appears to be in the process of being gang-raped by contractors/developers. Unless something is done to put a stop to this process now, the resulting “pregnancy” could become a “monster” comprising of a 170-room five- star hotel, 25 villas, 60 self-catering units and 200 multi-ownership residences (a smarter word for “time-share units”) plus a village core, a church and a yacht marina.
We are all aware that several hotels have recently been demolished to make way for apartments or re-classified as apartments blocks, an indication that there are sufficient hotels available. At present there are several thousand on-plan/shell/unfinished or empty apartments on this island. In addition, there are hundreds of old, derelict, empty buildings in the villages that could be renovated into the beautiful town or farm houses for which Gozo is famous. This means that another hotel and more apartments are really not sustainable or necessary.
As a pseudo village is already planned for Fort Chambray, I therefore humbly suggest that Gozo does not need another one. A chapel already exists in Hondoq and most people would agree that there are sufficient places of worship in Gozo without building a new fake one.
This leaves us with a marina; firstly, why destroy a beautiful natural cove to build a yacht marina when Mgarr, which is just around the corner, could conceivably be enlarged relatively easily?
Secondly, just think of the uncontrollable pollution: for example, boats cleaning their diesel and sewage tanks off shore, waste being dumped into the sea (unfortunately this does happen). At the weekends and during the holidays, one can already smell the diesel from the few visiting boats while swimming in the cove, and sometimes you can actually see it. It would mean the end of bathing in this area (nobody swims in Mgarr harbour do they?). It could also have a very negative effect on the environment of Comino as well.
I am certainly not against development, but the rule in Gozo seems to be “quickly, quickly, knock it down, cover it with concrete, build it back up, make a lot of money – and knock it down again, and make some more money”. It is far easier to destroy places of archaeological, historical or natural interest than to restore them again. The Gozo Stone Circle, Fort Chambray, various quarries, especially those near Qala and Dwejra and of course parts of Ta’Cenc and Sanap cliffs, are just a few examples of thoughtless “development”.
I appeal to all Maltese and Gozitans, please, at least try and preserve what is left of Hondoq ir-Rummien and don’t let the politicians and developers use it as a “vote” weapon.
Lesley Gail Kreupl
Please, will someone tell me why the inhabitants of this beautiful island and the Ministry of Gozo are allowing a few to rape and abuse what is left of it?
The last thing this island needs is another unsustainable concrete complex. The resources of this tiny island are already stretched to the limit.
Now, developers and speculators have, once again, their beady eyes on Hondoq ir-Rummien. A referendum was held in 2002 and 85 per cent of the Qala residents were against this “Qala creek development”. Now it appears that plans have again been presented to MEPA. Why have a referendum if the results are not adhered to or ignored. Hopefully this is not another ploy to get permits passed quickly in order to gain votes in the upcoming election.
For many years this cove has been a part of life for the people from the surrounding area, people who have taken advantage of the relatively easy access to the clear waters of the Mediterranean to take their children for an outing there – to paddle, swim and fish, or to collect snails, capers or whatever else was growing wild, as people still do today. Despite the fact that the area has been irrevocably damaged to a large extent by the quarry and the desalination plant, parts of it are, nevertheless, still relatively unspoilt and remain popular with the locals, and tourists who are lucky enough to find it. Unfortunately, it does need a lot of rehabilitation work carried out to try and undo some of the damage done in the past by unthinking or ignorant people. There are many options available, but they have to be very carefully considered in order to retain and enhance what is left of this beautiful cove.
Alas, this cove now appears to be in the process of being gang-raped by contractors/developers. Unless something is done to put a stop to this process now, the resulting “pregnancy” could become a “monster” comprising of a 170-room five- star hotel, 25 villas, 60 self-catering units and 200 multi-ownership residences (a smarter word for “time-share units”) plus a village core, a church and a yacht marina.
We are all aware that several hotels have recently been demolished to make way for apartments or re-classified as apartments blocks, an indication that there are sufficient hotels available. At present there are several thousand on-plan/shell/unfinished or empty apartments on this island. In addition, there are hundreds of old, derelict, empty buildings in the villages that could be renovated into the beautiful town or farm houses for which Gozo is famous. This means that another hotel and more apartments are really not sustainable or necessary.
As a pseudo village is already planned for Fort Chambray, I therefore humbly suggest that Gozo does not need another one. A chapel already exists in Hondoq and most people would agree that there are sufficient places of worship in Gozo without building a new fake one.
This leaves us with a marina; firstly, why destroy a beautiful natural cove to build a yacht marina when Mgarr, which is just around the corner, could conceivably be enlarged relatively easily?
Secondly, just think of the uncontrollable pollution: for example, boats cleaning their diesel and sewage tanks off shore, waste being dumped into the sea (unfortunately this does happen). At the weekends and during the holidays, one can already smell the diesel from the few visiting boats while swimming in the cove, and sometimes you can actually see it. It would mean the end of bathing in this area (nobody swims in Mgarr harbour do they?). It could also have a very negative effect on the environment of Comino as well.
I am certainly not against development, but the rule in Gozo seems to be “quickly, quickly, knock it down, cover it with concrete, build it back up, make a lot of money – and knock it down again, and make some more money”. It is far easier to destroy places of archaeological, historical or natural interest than to restore them again. The Gozo Stone Circle, Fort Chambray, various quarries, especially those near Qala and Dwejra and of course parts of Ta’Cenc and Sanap cliffs, are just a few examples of thoughtless “development”.
I appeal to all Maltese and Gozitans, please, at least try and preserve what is left of Hondoq ir-Rummien and don’t let the politicians and developers use it as a “vote” weapon.
Lesley Gail Kreupl
posted by Hondoq at
5:48 PM
