Ramblers rage over Armier

Published on The Times of Malta on Friday 20th June, 2008.

The Ramblers’ Association of Malta said today it found it "unbelievable and disquieting" that the Prime Minister has “secretly consented to sanction the illegal occupation of public land at Armier" in what it said was a pre-election gimmick.

"To add insult to injury, Enemalta is now proposing to build a substation estimated at €82,000 so that these illegal settlements can be better-served."

The Association said it was deeply hurt at how both large political parties were pandering to the unjustified demands of these "organised squatters" and said this was making well-behaved citizens feel like stupid losers for being upright and law-abiding.

The ramblers also noted that Qala Local Council was being given €10,000 out of public funds in order to conduct its own technical study into the proposed development of Hondoq ir-Rummien.

"RAM believes that such a proposed massive project in an ODZ area should not even have been considered in the first place. Why waste people’s time and money on such an abhorrent project? Is this just a gesture of appeasement, so that the government can then say that Qala residents were given the resources to combat this so-called development? The PM, now directly responsible for MEPA, had said, “ODZ is ODZ”. Or was this just pre-election talk? We still believe that the PM has the long-term good of the country at heart, and this project definitely does not fit the bill. It will simply contribute to the decline of Gozo as a pristine place, for both locals and visitors," the ramblers said.

In its statement the Association welcomed the new MLP leader’s declarations (made in the course of his interview on Dissett) regarding his proposed environmental course of action.

"We refer to his definitively excluding golf courses (this has been RAM’s policy all along) and to his defining the Hondoq ir-Rummien project as unsustainable. This too is perfectly in line with what our association and other Environmental NGOs have been repeating these last years. RAM now eagerly awaits an MLP policy statement on the Armier squatters," the ramblers said.

Knocking me down with a feather

Published on The Times of Malta on Tuesday 17th June, 2008 by Kenneth Zammit Tabona.

Wonders never cease in this little Clochemerle-like republic of ours. On Monday week I read that the Qala local council has successfully applied to the government for a grant to finance a study to counteract what is being proposed by developers for Ħondoq ir-Rummien; namely €10,000 for a technical study when, in my humble opinion, none is needed to realise that a hotel plus 285 units, including villas plus a yacht marina, will be the death knell of one of Gozo's loveliest beauty spots. You could have knocked me down with a feather. One may say that €10,000 is not much. However, all the same it is coming out of our taxes and if this becomes a trend it is an obvious conclusion that, with all the projects in the offing all over Malta and Gozo, we will be paying out oodles of dosh to state the obvious. I am sure that you will agree with me that this is nothing but a ghastly waste of money. Nothing can justify it. It is bureaucracy gone mad.

Since then, the Ħondoq controversy has actually captured the imagination of the schoolchildren who met George Pullicino last week and asked him to control urban development specifically mentioning Ramla Bay and Ħondoq ir-Rummien. The event, Dinja Waħda, was organised by Bank of Valletta and BirdLife and aims at including even children in the drive towards saving our environment. I find all this very touching and all that, however, we need some action and fewer words. Incidentally, Minister Pullicino, when are we getting those energy-saving bulbs that were promised us pre-election?

To get back to Ħondoq, just over a week ago, a group of friends and I left our cars in Ċirkewwa and crossed over to Gozo. The intention was to walk from Mġarr to Ħondoq along the cliff-face. It was a beautiful walk. Geologically, Gozo is so quirkily different to Malta. It seems to have been made of a different material and fashioned by a different hand to Malta; it is poetically dramatic and unique and, yet, we are destroying it piecemeal. The artistic editing that must be exercised every time we paint in Gozo is becoming more drastic.

The pungent scent of the wild thyme that at this time of the year is a mass of bright ecclesiastical purple flowers, was overpowering and beneath us huge boulders lay petrified in the act of tumbling off the steep slopes in the shimmering golden sea like genial primeval monsters. After an exhilarating swim in the still freezing but crystalline turquoise water of a cove shaped just like a miniature fjord a couple of hundred metres off Ħondoq, we arrived at the place itself. We sat sipping welcomingly refreshing tea and munching Twistees in the mercifully still primitive bar, surrounded by all the wonderful springtime beauty that not even the scarring of an old quarry could mar. The very idea of having such extensive development in a spot such as this became more of a repugnant enormity than ever.

From Ħondoq itself we climbed up the steep zig-zagged road that leads to Qala occasionally looking back to be knocked out by such a magnificent view. As we gained height, Comino lay beneath us, the Blue Lagoon lighting up the bland stony islands like a cabochon-cut sapphire. Already the outskirts of Qala are marred by new buildings as it is obvious that the competition to enjoy the most exhilaratingly lovely panoramas in the archipelago must be fierce indeed.
The people of Qala are under siege. The controversy about this development has been raging since 2002 when the parish priest held an informal referendum in which 85 per cent of the Qala residents voted against the project. That should have been quite enough to stymie the project for good and all; at least that is what common sense dictates. But, no; six years later the project still could be a ghastly reality tomorrow and the Qala council has had to resort to the Ministry for Rural Affairs to finance its own study to maybe forestall the irrevocable tragic ruination of Ħondoq once and for all.

One cannot but admire the pit bull-like tenacity of the developers but this time they have gone far too far. Isn't it enough that both Xlendi and Marsalforn have been shorn of all of their natural beauty because of unchecked weed-like urban sprawl? Must Ħondoq go the same insidious way?
Who is calling the shots here? I simply fail to understand how or why the project still exists, on paper or otherwise, when, clearly, the people are against it and anyone with the slightest aesthetic sense can see that such a project would be nothing but an abomination. Before granting sums of money over and above budget to local councils to fight developers on a level playground becomes an epidemic I would ask the Prime Minister to look into this dangerous precedent. Is there not enough "natural" opposition to the project to render any additional EIA a bureaucratic superfluity?

Hands off Ħondoq ir-Rummien, which should remain as it is forever; a beautiful bathing spot sheltered by lovely countryside and with breathtaking views that are to be enjoyed by all as part of our common environmental heritage.

Għażiża Michelle

Parti minn artiklu ppubblikat fuq l-Orizzont nhar s-Sibt 14 ta' Gunju, 2008 minn Joe Chetcuti.

Pawlu u l-Ħondoq

Għal ħafna żmien Paul Buttigieg, il-Kunsillier Laburista tal-Qala, seta’ ħassu mħolli waħdu jimbotta ‘l quddiem il-kampanja kontra l-qerda ta’ l-isbaħ bajja f’Għawdex, Ħondoq ir-Rummien. Però ħaġa ta’ l-iskantament, aktar ma beda jsib xkiel ma’ wiċċu Pawlu kien beda aktar iżid fid-determinazzjoni tiegħu, anki meta dan l-ixkiel beda ġej minn nies li tant kien qed jistenna appoġġ minnhom. U fejn ħaddieħor seta’ faċli jaqta’ qalbu, Pawlu beda aktar iżid fil-kuraġġ li jippersisti sa l-aħħar.

Niftakar konna flimkien Brussels għal żjara politika qasira u fil-ftit jiem li għamilna hemm irranġa, bl-għajnuna ta’ dak li llum hu l-Mexxej ġdid Laburista, laqgħa ma’ l-istaff ewlieni tal-Kummissarju Ewropew għall-Ambjent u ppreżentalhom ruxxmata dokumenti dwar il-każ. Niftakar li tant kien sodisfatt bih innifsu dak in-nhar li stajt nara f’għajnejh li ftit kienu dawk l-okkażjonijiet oħrajn f’ħajtu, apparti episodji ta’ natura personali u familjari, li tawh sodisfazzjon daqshekk.

Erġajt ftakart f’Pawlu din il-ġimgħa meta waqt il-programm “Dissett” Joseph Muscat esprima ruħu totalment kontra l-iżvilupp ta’ Ħondoq ir-Rummien. U stajt, nilmaħ mingħajr ma kien quddiemi, wiċċ Pawlu sodisfatt hekk kif dlonk intebaħ li m’għadux aktar leħen solitarju fid-deżert.

Bies tara l-artiklu kollu, mur fuq http://www.l-orizzont.com:80/news.asp?newsitemid=45062

Ħondoq - is the tide turning?

Published on The Times of Malta on Sunday 15th June, 2008 by Leslie Causon.

News that the government has allocated €10,000 to the Qala council to carry out a technical analysis of the environmental impact assessment of the proposed Ħondoq ir-Rummien development is welcome.

This move should be seen as a positive development in this long drawnout saga and the funds should now allow the local council to forward its opinion and its own expert advice to Mepa.

Qala residents and the local council have, from the outset, expressed their disagreement with the proposed monstrous development of this picturesque bay and its surroundings. In 2002 the original application was refused by Mepa and subsequently the Gozo and Comino Local Plan (issued in July 2006) gave some hope to the developers by listing the area as being in need of 'rehabilitation'. What happens next? Some cosmetic changes to the original application and, hey presto, a new proposal is made, and Mepa is asked to reconsider.

If one reads the specific section in the 2006 plan (section 14.8.4) it is very clear that Mepa continues to acknowledge the sensitivity of the area from an environmental and landscape point of view.

It talks about the need to have basic beach facilities which should be "small in scale and located in an area which renders them non-obtrusive". It also acknowledges that there have to be proposals that would reach the aim of rehabilitating the old quarry which today is an eyesore. These include the afforestation of the area or the building of a theme park.

It is clear that even this plan finds it difficult to acknowledge that doubling the potential population of Qala by building a 170-bedroom hotel and nearly 300 other residences - villas, self-catering units and multi-ownership residences - is the right approach to solving the eyesore created by the quarry. It seems to me that this is simply an excuse to turn this area into a goldmine for speculators.

The government should be applauded for taking this very positive initiative.

The residents hope that Mepa will now have the necessary tools to take an impartial decision on this matter, which should help to turn words into action... and really start the process to turn Gozo into an ecological island.

Save Ħondoq Movement welcomes grant to rebut EIA

Published on The Times of MAlta on Friday 13th June, 2008.

The Save Ħondoq Movement has welcomed the financial grant by the government to the Qala local council to commission a critical analysis of the environmental impact assessment made for the controversial Ħondoq ir-Rummien marina development.

"This shows that the government is conscious of the negative impact such a project will leave on the area," the movement said.

On Monday, The Times reported that the government had given a grant of €10,000 (Lm4,293) to the Qala local council to commission two reports it needed to rebut the voluminous EIA for the project. The council is hoping that the reports will provide it with technical ammunition against the project.

The request was filed in April by the council itself on the insistence of Save Ħondoq Movement, Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar (FAA) and various environmental NGOs, after it was informed that the two technical reports it had requested in order to rebut two of the seven areas of the EIA would cost €10,000 - the equivalent of the council's entire budget for this year.

The movement reiterated yesterday that it does not understand how, with a stroke of a pen, without any consultation, the local plan for the Ħondoq area was changed from an outside development zone to a development zone, adding that, on this basis, the Malta Environment and Planning Authority is being asked to revise the decision that was taken in 2006 and give Ħondoq the status it once had.

"The movement's aim was, is, and will be, to have Ħondoq enjoyed by everyone," the movement said.

Hands off Ħondoq ir-Rummien (1)

Published on The TImes of Malta on Saturday 14th June, 2008 by Charles Sammut, USA.

Like the mythological hydra, the proposed huge project that would negatively and drastically change the secluded bay at Ħondoq and its enchanting surroundings never seems to go away and, forever, keeps rearing its ugly head.

Instead of being decapitated and put out of its misery once and for all by the Maltese authorities that should have Malta and Gozo's interests at heart, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi has decided to allocate €10,000 for a study on the ecological impact of the project.

Here in America we say "if it isn't broken, don't fix it". Ħondoq ir-Rummien is one of the few places left on Gozo where anyone can spend some quality relaxing time whether it is swimming or diving or windsurfing or just hanging out enjoying the beauty of a pristine bay. The ride going down offers spectacular views of the channel and Comino and the unique Blue Lagoon. And when the wind is northerly, even those pests the jellyfish tend to disappear. The bathing is excellent because the water is clean and refreshing and it is a venue that many locals and tourists alike really enjoy.

Now obviously, were the huge project allowed to proceed, Ħondoq as we know it would never be the same. The very select few that could afford to buy property or moor their boat down there would have found a Nirvana and the rest of us would only be left with memories. It is pathetic that an ODZ area is being considered for development.

It is about time those elected to safeguard the public's interest manifest some backbone and take a stand by declaring certain historical and public places as landmarks that cannot be developed.

That would make sure speculators looking to make a quick profit lay off these areas and guarantee that a peaceful and magnificent cove like Ħondoq, that gives pleasure to so manywould remain accessible and characteristically unchanged for all of us and future generations to come.

Hands off Ħondoq ir-Rummien (2)

Published on The Times of Malta on Saturday 14th June, 2008 by James A. Tyrrell.

The grant of €10,000 allotted to the Qala local council, from the central government, for the analytical and technical study of the proposed project of Ħondoq ir-Rummien, is long awaited good news for all environmentalists.

My main concern here is how impartial will this EIA be when the government is basically telling the Qala council who to use for the study.

If this is a fair and impartial study, then the only conclusion that can be reached is that the whole idea of a marina, hotel and apartments in this area is totally flawed. Ħondoq ir-Rummien has the cleanest bathing water in Gozo and a development on this scale would ruin it forever. What right does anyone have to spoil such a gift from God in the name of financial profit?

I don't live in Gozo and, therefore, I don't have a vote, at least not from the point of view of local elections.

What I do have is what I would call the tourist vote. If the Maltese government and their front line troops in Mepa continue to destroy the natural beauty of the islands to appease rich developers, then I will be looking for somewhere else to take my holidays. Don't they understand that they are destroying the very things that bring tourists to their country?

If a marina is required on Gozo, then there are quite a few places eminently more suitable for such a development than Ħondoq ir-Rummien. My message, therefore, to the government is a simple one: Stop building things that are not required and start fixing up the thousands of empty properties that form a scar on the local landscape. Can I suggest that before any further new development is even considered on Gozo all the empty properties are developed first?

Schoolchildren call for greater environmental protection

Published on The Times of Malta on Tuesday 12th June, 2008.

Schoolchildren placed a strong emphasis on animal welfare in letters they read to Resources Minister George Pullicino today in an event organised by BirdLife Malta.

They also called for greater use of alternative sources of energy and protection for scenic sites such as Ramla and Hondoq ir-Rummien bays.

Mr Pullicino tried to reply to the children in language they could understand, although it was difficult sometimes, such as when he asked whether people were prepared to have part of their taxes spent on the purchase of buildings which would then be removed for environmental purposes.

One of the children called for bring-in sites in all localities. Mr Pullicino agreed, but said some local councils tended to give in when people complained, adding there was need for people to stick to difficult decisions.

In their letters the children also urged the minister to ensure that hotels do not take over bays and to control over-fishing.

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20080612/local/schoolchildren-call-for-greater-environmental-protection

What right does anyone have to spoil such a gift from God in the name of financial profit?

Published on www.gozonews.com on 11th June by James A. Tyrrell.

The grant of ten thousand Euro allotted to the Qala local council, from the central government for the analytical and technical study of the proposed project of Hondoq ir-rummien is long awaited good news for all environmentalists. My main concern here is how impartial will this EIA be when Government is basically telling Qala council who to use for the study.

If this is a fair and impartial study then the only conclusion that can be reached is that the whole idea of a marina, hotel and apartments in this area is totally flawed. Hondoq ir-rummien has the cleanest bathing water in Gozo and a development on this scale would ruin it forever. What right does anyone have to spoil such a gift from God in the name of financial profit?

I don’t live in Gozo and therefore I don’t have a vote, at least not from the point of view of local elections. What I do have is what I would call the tourist vote. If the Maltese Government and their front line troops in Mepa continue to destroy the natural beauty of the islands to appease rich developers then I will be looking for somewhere else to take my holidays. Don’t they understand that they are destroying the very things that bring tourists to their country?

If a marina is required on Gozo then there are quite a few places eminently more suitable for such a development than Hondoq ir-rummien. My message therefore to the Government is a simple one; stop building things that are not required and start fixing up the thousands of empty properties that form a scar on the local landscape. Can I suggest that before any further new development is even considered on Gozo all the empty properties are developed first.

http://gozonews.com/letters/what-right-does-anyone-have-to-spoil-such-a-gift-from-god-in-the-name-of-financial-profit/

Government gives €10,000 to local council for technical study

Published on The Times of Malta on Monday 9th June, 2008 by Mark Micallef.

The government has decided to grant €10,000 to the Qala local council to carry out a critical technical analysis of the environmental impact assessment made for the controversial Ħondoq ir-Rummien marina development.

The financial help, which the small Gozitan council is hoping will give it technical ammunition against the project, sets a precedent for the central administration in helping local councils fighting such battles.

The council had written to the Resources and Rural Affairs Ministry in April, pointing out that it was facing an unfair battle against the developers behind the Ħondoq project considering the council's meager financial resources.

The council had been informed that two technical reports they had requested in order to rebut two of the seven areas of the EIA, would cost €10,000 - the equivalent of the council's entire budget for this year.

"It was obvious at this point that if we didn't get any financial help we would have had an unfair disadvantage in respect of the developers," mayor Paul Buttigieg told The Times.

The ministry handed over the necessary funds last week, on condition that the experts writing the report are chosen through the standard government procurement procedures.

The mayor conceded that the reports could end up confirming the EIA findings, which in general supports the project.

However, he said the council has serious doubts about the social study and the traffic impact assessment contained within the EIA.

"We want the reports to analyse these two areas of the EIA because we seriously question them, especially the social study," he said.

The controversy surrounding the project is long standing. In fact, when it was first proposed in 2002, the Qala local council had even held a referendum, spearheaded by parish priest Fr Karm Refalo, whereby 85 per cent of the residents voted to keep Ħondoq ir-Rummien bay free of development.

The plans were then stalled for some years but in 2006 the proposal reappeared in the form of a mega-project, which includes a hotel, 285 residential units and villas as well as the highly-contentious yacht marina. The local council has been battling it ever since.

"We're very pleased with the government's decision," Mr Buttigieg said. "Whatever the outcome, the Qala residents and the people in general will be in a better position to evaluate the pros and cons of this development."

To view the article, go to http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20080609/local/government-gives-euro-10-000-to-local-council-for-technical-study

Walking with Mike and Anne

Published on Mellieha Messenger, May 2008.

It was an absolute delight to visit Gozo on a typical Spring day at then end of April, walking through the historic village of Qala down to the sea at Hondoq point and then back up to enjoy a leisurely lunch at Xerri’s il-Bukket on the edge of the village overlooking Comino. It was really strange to see Comino from the other side!!!

Those of us intrepid enough to get up and catch the 9am ferry – free to those of us of a certain age! – were met at Mgarr by Mike & Anne who took us back to their adopted village and showed us the lovely old church of St Joseph’s with its magnificent chandeliers. (Some wag said they were waiting for Del-boy & Co to turn up to clean them). When then walked through the oldest part of the village towards the sea, stopping noow and then whilst Anne told us some of its history. She pointed out the cross on the sire where thw church of the Immaculate Conception was meant to have been built but whose stones miraculously moved overnight – not once but several times – until the villagers got the message the someone wanted the church to be built further up the road. In this church we saw the shrine of St Kerrew. On the walls outside we saw graffiti – not modern – but scratched in the stone by Galley slaves back in the times of the knights.

When then met up with a local councillor, Paul Buttigieg who explained to us about the proposed development of the beautiful costal area of Hondoq ir-Rummien and of the Gozitans’ fight to ensure the area is preversed. This project – the Qala Creek project – is a massive development of apartments, villas, a yacht marina, restaurant, shopos and hotel. To those of us who walked in the peace and quiet of the area it seemed almost obscene thaat such a proposal could ever be considered.. There is a website set up www.soshondoq.blogspot.com where you can find out more and if you wish to support the campaign please sign the petition or make comment.

On the costal path back to the top of the village we heard about the tragic drowning in 1948 in the Malta – Comino inlet when 23 souls were lost – the memorial to this being in Mgarr Marina. The views across the harbour showed us Fort Chambrey, built as Gozo’s answer to Valletta but which fell down as it was built on clay.

The Walk back up the hill was rewarded by lunch and a few glasses in ‘il-Bukket’ before we caught the ferry home. It was a wonderful day out and sincere thanks go to Mike and Anne for the enthusiasm, commitment and time they give, helping us learn more about Malta and its islands.

Making good the environmental deficit to Hondoq ir-Rummien

Published on The Malta Independent on Sunday 1st June, 2008 by Joe Portelli.

Hondoq ir-Rummien was a rocky creek surrounded by a splendid environment of maquis.

Years ago, great rocks were cut from it to build the breakwater at Grand Harbour and it was turned into an ugly quarry. Then the distillation plant was built as well.

Now a great development is being proposed: a hotel, hundreds of apartments, a village and a yacht marina outside development zone.

It is time now to make good the environmental deficit to Hondoq ir-Rummien by rehabilitating the environment around Hondoq.

This will be achieved not by turning it into another ugly Xlendi or Marsalforn, but by rehabilitating the quarry – by terracing it, planting trees and pulling down the distillation plant, leaving it to be enjoyed by the thousands who frequent it and swim in its clear waters.

Dr Gonzi has the responsibility to reform Mepa. Mepa is reformed if it protects our natural environment. So if Mepa approves this development, DJ Gonzi would have spun us another tune. The people had danced to it and gave him the government for the next five years, and now DJ Gonzi will play us another tune to dance to.

People forget, but the natural environment that makes Gozo a jewel will keep on being degraded and go to rot.

What about the Church, the conscience of the Maltese people? Is it true that a religious order sold this land from behind Il-Kuncizzjoni Church down to the sea for a few thousand liri to a developer who is surely not going to use it in a socially sensitive way? Can the Church do something like protest, pull its weight in favour of the natural environment and review the contract. The natural environment is the only place where all, poor and rich, can have some relaxing time for free, where our quality of life becomes richer.

Gozo: environment and public transport

Published on The Times of Malta on Sunday 1st June, 2008 by Joe Portelli.

The government does not really have any plans to turn Gozo into an ecological island.

How can you have an ecological island with a virtual non-existent public transport system? The government always talks about public transport reform in Malta, but never about Gozo's. Gozo is in fact the island where time stood still with respect to public transport.

Why is Gozo's public transport not subsidised like Malta's?

Why is the monopoly still present, as well as taxis?

Why not have an efficient minibus service?

Why do people have to use their car for their daily needs: to transport their children to and from private lessons, to go to work, to go to the ferry, to go out in the evenings, and so on. Why do tourists have to rent a car or ride a costly taxi to enjoy Gozo?

It makes no sense, health-wise, money-wise, quality of life-wise, environmentally, or parking space-wise.

But time did not stand still regarding the continuing encroachment on our natural environment. This rage fuelled by big money will not stop until the monster has gobbled everything up.

Can I really believe this government when in the years past, it did nothing to protect our natural heritage?

Will Mepa protect Ramla from the villas and from the cemetery?

Will it protect Ta' Ċenċ or Ħondoq ir-Rummien?

Will all our remaining free ridges remain unspoilt?

Will construction outside development zones be stopped in Gozo?

Remember: it is not Mepa which is failing to protect the environment, but the government.

It has the power to change the Structure Plan, and to make Mepa more accountable.

Will Dr Gonzi take the bull by the horns, or will the bull ruin what little nature we have left?