A double whammy
Published on the Times of Malta on 12th September, 2007 by Toni Farrugia.
I find it cruelly ironic that while the Prime Minister's pre-budget consultation exercise was billed as "Gozo: A Unique Island", a handful of property developers are, with single minded determination, set on burying under rubble this very same uniqueness. Although the Gozitan landscape has not yet been scarred to the extent of its Maltese counterpart, this is certainly not for want of trying. But, while to date this destruction, or development if you will, has been piecemeal and on a small scale (just look around you), two substantial chunks of wholesale destruction are now in the pipeline - the Hondoq ir-Rummien and Ta' Cenc projects. I will, for the purpose of this contribution, not include the Ramla Bay and the airport affairs.
The respective developers are promoting their projects as "limited", and are even brazen enough to proclaim that they are environment friendly as they will be enhancing dilapidated sites! But make no mistake, as always in matters of this kind (the San Lawrenz Hotel, anyone?), this is the thin edge of the wedge and the developers will, as surely as day follows night, be back for more when they feel that the time is ripe. Much has been written about these projects, so I will add only one point. Victor Borg (August 18) claims that the Heritage Park will take nearly 60 per cent of the whole area, a stretch of land larger than Valletta. Correct me if I am wrong, but does that mean that the remaining 40 per cent, together with the Hondoq ir-Rummien thing are as large as Valletta? If this is so, then all I can say is that I feel like I have just been hit by a double whammy by the current heavy weight world champion, whoever he may be.
Mepa is, admittedly, on the horns of a dilemma as it tries to appease diametrically opposing interests (always an impossible task), and will probably end up pleasing no one. However I do think that it is a problem of its own making. It could have made it clear from the start to the developers that an ODZ is an ODZ, and that no amount of verbal gymnastics is going to change that. Period. Otherwise the process of drawing up the Structure Plan would be sheer waste of taxpayers' money.
I find it cruelly ironic that while the Prime Minister's pre-budget consultation exercise was billed as "Gozo: A Unique Island", a handful of property developers are, with single minded determination, set on burying under rubble this very same uniqueness. Although the Gozitan landscape has not yet been scarred to the extent of its Maltese counterpart, this is certainly not for want of trying. But, while to date this destruction, or development if you will, has been piecemeal and on a small scale (just look around you), two substantial chunks of wholesale destruction are now in the pipeline - the Hondoq ir-Rummien and Ta' Cenc projects. I will, for the purpose of this contribution, not include the Ramla Bay and the airport affairs.
The respective developers are promoting their projects as "limited", and are even brazen enough to proclaim that they are environment friendly as they will be enhancing dilapidated sites! But make no mistake, as always in matters of this kind (the San Lawrenz Hotel, anyone?), this is the thin edge of the wedge and the developers will, as surely as day follows night, be back for more when they feel that the time is ripe. Much has been written about these projects, so I will add only one point. Victor Borg (August 18) claims that the Heritage Park will take nearly 60 per cent of the whole area, a stretch of land larger than Valletta. Correct me if I am wrong, but does that mean that the remaining 40 per cent, together with the Hondoq ir-Rummien thing are as large as Valletta? If this is so, then all I can say is that I feel like I have just been hit by a double whammy by the current heavy weight world champion, whoever he may be.
Mepa is, admittedly, on the horns of a dilemma as it tries to appease diametrically opposing interests (always an impossible task), and will probably end up pleasing no one. However I do think that it is a problem of its own making. It could have made it clear from the start to the developers that an ODZ is an ODZ, and that no amount of verbal gymnastics is going to change that. Period. Otherwise the process of drawing up the Structure Plan would be sheer waste of taxpayers' money.
posted by Hondoq at
9:11 PM
