Talba lill-MEPA biex tirrifjuta applikazzjoni ġdida għal ħondoq

Pubblikata fuq t-Torca nhar l-Hadd 30 ta' Ottubru, 2011 minn Charmaine Craus.

Diversi għaqdiet ambjentali għamlu sejħa kollettiva lill-MEPA biex tirrifjuta applikaz-zjoni ġdida li saret mill-Qala Creek Developers biex Ħondoq ir-Rummien jinbidel fi ‘swimming lagoon’.

Wara l-oppożizzjoni qawwija kontra l-iżvilupp propost għal Ħondoq ir-Rummien, li kien jikkonsisti f’lukanda ta’ ħames stilel kif ukoll numru ta’ vilel u appartamenti madwar yacht marina, l-iżviluppaturi ta’ dan il-proġett ippre- żentaw pjanti ġodda li fihom ineħħu l-yacht marina u min-flokha jagħmlu ‘swimming lagoon’

.
L-għaqdiet Moviment Ħarsien Ħondoq, Flimkien Għal Ambjent Aħjar, FOE, Malta Ramblers Association, NatureTrust, GUG, Din L-Art Ħelwa u Wirt Għawdex studjaw ir-rapport tal-‘environmental impact statement’ tal-2009 li fih l-iżviluppaturi stess jiddikjaraw li l-proġett ibati jekk ikun żviluppat f’lukanda waħedha.

L-iżviluppaturi jisħqu li huwa ta’ tħassib li jkollok kmamar żejda iktar mid-domanda u għalhekk biex lukanda jkollha suċċess trid tagħmel parti integrali minn proġett imdawwar bi bżon-nijiet bħal yacht marina, restoranti li jagħmluha differenti minn lukandi oħra. Fil-fatt, hemm miktub li l-lukanda tiddependi mid-domanda ġġe-nerata minn partijiet oħrajn tal-proġett.

Interessanti l-fatt li meta jiġi biex jiddiskuti d-dħul finanzjarju minn dan il-proġett, ir-rapport tal-2007 jgħid li l-lukanda waħedha mhijiex vijabbli, iżda biex tirnexxi trid tkun tifforma parti minn kumpless ikbar li jiġbed interess mir-residenti fil-lukanda. Mill-banda l-oħra, fir-rapport tat-2009, inbidel xi kliem iżda t-tifsira baqgħet l-istess. Fl-2009 l-iżviluppaturi nfushom ma qisux il-lukanda vijabbli mingħajr il-marina.

L-għaqdiet ambjentali qalu fi stqarrija li ma jistgħux jifhmu kif l-iżviluppaturi se jeliminaw il-marina u xorta jsostnu li l-kumpless jibqa’ sostenibbli finanzjarjament kif miktub fl-Environment Impact Assessment. Il-ħruġ ta’ pjanti ġodda juri biċ-ċar li l-iżviluppaturi għandhom f’moħħhom li jkomplu jagħfsu fuq dan ir-riskju kummerċjali mingħajr ma jagħtu kas tal-impatt soċjali li se jħalli dan il-proġett, minkejja l-fatt li kemm il-komunità tal-Qala kif ukoll il-pubbliku in ġenerali wrew bil-qawwa kollha li huma kontra dan il-proġett.

Għaldaqstant l-għaqdiet ambjentali talbu lill-MEPA biex tirrifjuta dan il-proġett u treġġgħu lura għall-pjan oriġinali ta’ park naturali.

MEPA urged to refuse Hondoq Hotel plans by environment NGOs

PUBLISHED ON THE MALTA TODAY ON SUNDAY, 30TH OCTOBER, 2011

Environmental NGOs call on MEPA to refuse permits for development at Hondoq ir-Rummien, Gozo.

Environmental NGOs urge MEPA to refuse Qala Creek developers permission to go forward with plans to build unviable hotel which could negatively impact Gozo.

Moviment Harsien Hondoq, Flimkien ghal Ambjent Ahjar, Ramblers Association, FOE Malta, Nature Trust, GUG, Din l-art helwa andWirtGhawdex urged the Malta Environment and Planning Authority to refuse permits for the project and to “revert the land to its original designation as a nature park”.

The environmental NGOs studied the 2009 EIS Coordinated Report where developers themselves stated that “the project would struggle if it had to be developed as a stand-alone hotel”.

Qala Creek developers responded to objections of a proposed marina atHondoq Bay by limiting plans to ‘swimming lagoon’.

The NGOs said that they could not understand how developers believed that removing the marina concept from the project and replacing it with a ‘swimming lagoon’ would be commercially viable, as required by the Environment Impact Assessment, when a stand-alone hotel had already been doubted.

The marina was the latest concept added to plans to give the hotel uniqueness allowing the hotel to “depend on demand generated by other parts of the project” and attract interest by potential patrons.

Developers said that the projected was expected to double the five-star room capacity in Gozo despite a weak demand for five-star hotel properties in Gozo.

In order for the increased room capacity to be successful, developers said that the hotel would need to be part of an integrated project with features differentiating it from other hotels.

The NGOs said that new plans submitted show that “developers are intent on pushing through this venture in complete disregard of the social and environmental impacts of the project, ignoring the fact that the local community and also general public opinion has expressed itself against the project”.

“The Qala Local Council has already looked into the various aspects of creating an environment and Heritage Park, a project that would attract much-needed tourists to Gozo, and support existing hotels and catering establishments,” the environmental NGOs said.

To view the comments, go tohttp://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/2011/1030/mepa-urged-to-refuse-hondoq-hotel-plans-by-environment-ngos

‘Controversial’ projects for Gozo?

Published on the Times of Malta on Sunday, 30th October, 2011 by Alan Deidun.

Pulling wool over eyes

The fact that the proposer of the Qala Creek (Ħondoq ir-Rummien) project has abandoned the yacht marina concept and replaced it with a proposed swimming lagoon may seem, prima facie, a victory for the environmental movement.

But delving further into the matter, one realises that the move is symptomatic of a developer who has read the writing on the wall and has opted for confounding, delaying tactics.

The Qala Creek project proposals have in recent months been given the thumbs down by Mepa’s Environment Directorate, Transport Malta and the NGO Wirt Għawdex, among a long list of other detractors. In fact, the publication of the case officer’s report for the project was imminent and the odds were stacked against the developer.

So by popping such a fundamentally different proposal out of the hat, the developer is wasting the precious time of Mepa staff. The application was originally submitted some nine years ago.

With Ħondoq ir-Rummien’s excellent bathing water quality, the need for a swimming lagoon there is hardly urgent.

To view the whole article and the comments, go tohttp://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20111030/environment/-Controversial-projects-for-Gozo-.391339

NGOs call on MEPA to refuse Qala Creek project after change of plans

Published on the Malta Independent on Sunday 30th October, 2011.

As the developers who are proposing the highly controversial Qala Creek project, have axed their plans for one of the project’s main bones of contention, the yacht marina, in favour of a so-called swimming lagoon, a number of NGOs are now questioning the viability of the project that will not have what was meant to be one of its main cash cows.

Moviment Harsien Hondoq, Flimkien ghal Ambjent Ahjar, Ramblers Association, Friends of the Earth Malta, Nature Trust, GUG, Din l-Art Helwa and Wirt Ghawdex are however contesting the new plans on the basis that the developer’s 2009 report had insisted on the yacht marina as, the report said, “The project would struggle if it had to be developed as a stand-alone hotel”.

As such, the NGOs have urged the Malta Environment and Planning Authority to refuse the project and “to revert the land to its original designation as a nature park”.

The Qala Local Council, they say, has already looked into the various aspects of creating an environment and heritage park, a project they insist would draw tourists to Gozo and at the same support the existing hotels and catering establishments.

The NGOs point out that while the disputed project is expected to double Gozo’s five-star room capacity, the fact of the matter, they say, is that current demand for five-star hotel properties in Gozo is weak.

“The developers stressed the point that increased room capacity (oversupply) is of major concern to the market, and to be successful the hotel needs to be part of an integrated project with features that differentiate it from other hotels, i.e. the marina, thus ‘the hotel will depend on demand generated by other parts of the project’,” the NGOs highlight.

But they also note that when discussing revenue projections, the report’s 2007 version states: “The hotel on its own is not commercially viable. It can only succeed and be sustainable if it forms part of a much larger complex which will attract interest by potential patrons to reside at the hotel. The marina development could act as such an attraction.”

But, they point out that, in the 2009 version the statement had been modified to: “The hotel will be successful and sustainable if it forms part of a much larger complex which will attract interest by potential patrons to reside at the hotel. The marina development could act as such an attraction.”

“The wording has changed, but the meaning has not,” the NGOs claim.

They say, “In 2009 the developers themselves did not consider the hotel as viable without the marina, therefore the NGOs fail to understand how the developers can now eliminate the marina and claim that the complex would remain financially viable, as required by the Environment Impact Assessment.

“This eleventh-hour submission of new plans shows that the developers are intent on pushing through this venture in complete disregard of the social and environmental impacts of the project, ignoring the fact that the local community and also general public opinion has expressed itself against the project.”

NGOs call on Mepa to refuse new Hondoq application

Published on www.timesofmalta.com on Friday, 28th October, 2011.

ù

jj

trrf,l

• 

A number of environmental non-governmental organisations are calling on the planning authority to refuse an application by the Qala Creek developers for a swimming lagoon.

In a statement this evening, Moviment Harsien Hondoq, Flimkien ghal Ambjent Ahjar, Ramblers Association, FOE Malta, Nature Trust, GUG, Din l-art Helwa and Wirt Ghawdex said that in the face of an overwhelming outcry against the proposed Hondoq project to develop a large hotel and hundreds of real estate units around a yacht marina, the developers of Qala Creek have decided to drop the idea of the marina at Hondoq Bay, limiting themselves to a 'swimming lagoon'.

However, in the 2009 EIS coordinated report the developers themselves stated "the project would struggle if it had to be developed as a stand-alone hotel".

They said that to be successful the hotel needed to be part of an integrated project with features that differentiated it from other hotels.

When discussing revenue projections, the 2007 version of the report stated: "The hotel on its own is not commercially viable. It can only succeed and be sustainable if it forms part of a much larger complex which will attract interest by potential patrons to reside at the hotel. The marina development could act as such an attraction."

In the 2009 version this was modified to: "The hotel will be successful and sustainable if it forms part of a much larger complex which will attract interest by potential patrons to reside at the hotel. The marina development could act as such an attraction."

The NGOs said they, therefore, failed to understand how the developers could now eliminate the marina and claim that the complex would remain financially viable, as required by the Environment Impact Assessment.

"This eleventh-hour submission of new plans shows that the developers are intent on pushing through this venture in complete disregard of the social and environmental impacts of the project, ignoring the fact that the local community and also general public opinion has expressed itself against the project.

"The environmental NGOs therefore urge MEPA to refuse such a project and to revert the land to its original designation as a nature park.

"The Qala Local Council has already looked into the various aspects of creating an environment and heritage park, a project that would draw much-needed tourists to Gozo, and support existing hotels and catering establishments."

A petition on the project can be found at:

http://raxerri.com/soshondoq/

To view the comments, go tohttp://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20111028/local/ngos-call-on-mepa-to-refuse-new-hondoq-application.391184

Environmental NGOs urge MEPA to refuse Hondoq project

Published on www.gozonews.com on Friday 28th October, 2011.

In a joint statement released this evening by eviromental NGO’ regarding the revised application put in for Hondoq, it said “in the face of an overwhelming outcry against the proposed Hondoq project to develop a large hotel and hundreds of real estate units around a yacht marina, the developers of Qala Creek have decided to drop the idea of the marina at Hondoq Bay, limiting themselves to a ‘swimming lagoon.”

The NGOs Moviment Harsien Hondoq, Flimkien ghal Ambjent Ahjar, Ramblers Association, FOE Malta, Nature Trust, GUG, Din l-art helwa and Wirt Ghawdex have studied the 2009 EIS Co-ordinated Report where the developers themselves state “the project would struggle if it had to be developed as a stand-alone hotel.” They say that the “project is expected to double the 5-star room capacity in Gozo, despite the current demand for five-star hotel properties in Gozo being weak.”

The NGOs said that “the developers stressed the point that increased room capacity (oversupply) is of major concern to the market, and to be successful the hotel needs to be part of an integrated project with features that differentiate it from other hotels, i.e. the marina, thus the hotel will depend on demand generated by other parts of the project.”

“Interestingly,” the NGOs continued, “when discussing revenue projections, the NGO 2007 version of the report stated:” “The hotel on its own is not commercially viable. It can only succeed and be sustainable if it forms part of a much larger complex which will attract interest by potential patrons to reside at the hotel. The marina development could act as such an attraction.”

In the 2009 version, the NGOs said that this was modified to: “The hotel will be successful and sustainable if it forms part of a much larger complex which will attract interest by potential patrons to reside at the hotel. The marina development could act as such an attraction.”

“The wording has changed,”the NGOs continued “but the meaning has not. In 2009 the developers themselves did not consider the hotel was viable without the marina, therefore the NGOs fail to understand how the developers can now eliminate the marina and claim that the complex would remain financially viable, as required by the Environment Impact Assessment.”

“This eleventh-hour submission of new plans shows that the developers are intent on pushing through this venture in complete disregard of the social and environmental impacts of the project, ignoring the fact that the local community and also general public opinion has expressed itself against the project,” the statement said.

The environmental NGOs said that they “therefore urge MEPA to refuse such a project and to revert the land to its original designation as a nature park. The Qala Local Council has already looked into the various aspects of creating an environment and heritage park, a project that would draw much-needed tourists to Gozo, and support existing hotels and catering establishments.”

The NGOs concluded by appealing for everyone to continue to show their support by signing their petition to let MEPA know what they think of this project.

The NGOs petition is available for signing by Clicking Here.

To view the comments, go tohttp://gozonews.com/20124/environmental-ngos-urge-mepa-to-refuse-hondoq-project/

Ħondoq project developers drop marina. . . and propose lagoon

Ħondoq ir-Rummien, Gozo. Photo: David Schembri

• 

Developers of the €120 million Ħondoq ir-Rummien project in Gozo have submitted fresh plans, scrapping the marina and replacing it with a swimming lagoon.

The controversial project had raised the ire of environmental organisations and the planning authority’s environment unit had deemed the development “objectionable” and called for its refusal.

Inspired by the hanging garden effect of villages dotting the Italian Amalfi Coast, the proposal is for a five-star hotel, 285 flats and villas, 731 underground parking spaces, 10 shops, five restaurants and, until recently, a marina for 150 boats, all outside the development boundary.

A spokesman for the Malta Environment and Planning Authority explained that “the authority is evaluating whether the new submissions can be considered as part of the application being processed or whether these will have to be submitted as a new application”.

In any case, the new plans would still need to be screened as part of new procedures introduced at the beginning of this year when the planning authority was reformed, the spokesman said.

Moviment Ħarsien Ħondoq, which has campaigned for years against the project, said the new plans were nothing but delaying tactics.

“Submitting a new application nine years after the first one was filed and just before the case officer report was about to be published is nothing more than tactics to lengthen the process,” the group said.

Removing the yacht marina in the new plans made it clearer “that this project is nothing more than pure real estate speculation” it added.

Environmental group Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar welcomed the removal of the marina from the plans, “ensuring that Ħondoq Bay remains clean and pollution-free”.

However, the health of the residents remained its primary concern. Qala already had the second highest rate of air pollution in Gozo and the project would generate 2,000 extra vehicle trips a day, trapping exhaust emissions in the narrow old village streets, the group said.

Instead, Ħondoq should be turned into a national park, run by the council, and rehabilitated into an open space for everyone to enjoy as was originally planned in the area’s local plans, FAA said.

Together with another five environmental groups, FAA and Moviment Ħarsien Ħondoq are raising an online petition calling on the planning authority to turn down the project and convert it into a national park. Launched in August, the petition has so far attracted 3,000 signatures and can be found on http://raxerri.com/soshondoq .

To view the comments, go to http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20111024/local/-ondoq-project-developers-drop-marina-and-propose-lagoon.390469