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James Debono
The Malta Environment and Planning Authority has not honoured its solemn commitment to exclude Fekruna Bay in Saint Paul’s Bay, from development zones as the area has been retained within the new development boundaries.
“This makes a mockery of all recommendations made by MEPA in the past”, a strongly worded letter addressed to the Prime Minister and Environment Minister George Pullicino reads, penned by the owners of 11 properties at Vista Point and Vista Marine.
According to MEPA’s interpretation of the Cabinet memo on the rationalisation of development boundaries, Fekruna Bay is listed within the development boundary and is therefore set to remain available for development following Cabinet approval.
MEPA had scheduled this site in 1996 following protests by residents and Alternattiva Demokratika who wanted free public access to Fekruna Bay.
During one of these protests, AD activists had torn down a barbed wire fence to reclaim access to this picturesque site.
Writing in the Times in August 2002, MEPA’s marketing executive Peter Gingell declared that “the site has been scheduled in 1996 following an exercise on coastal cliffs in Malta.”
He also wrote that, “apart from scheduling, MEPA is recommending through the publication of the draft North West Local Plan in July 2001 that the area is withdrawn from the current scheme.”
On that occasion Gingell passed the buck on to the government as MEPA is only in a position to recommend that a scheme is changed. “Since the NWLP is still in draft form and still to be presented to government for approval the scheme boundaries cannot be changed.”
Four years have passed since Gingell’s letter and the government has yet not submitted the NWLP for parliamentary approval. Instead last month, the government gave MEPA three days to interpret the Cabinet’s criteria for adding new lands to existing development zones.
Fekruna Bay had been earmarked for villa development in the 1988 temporary provision scheme. But in 1996 MEPA had decided to schedule the area. The authority had consequently refused an application by Mare D’Oro owner Raymond Vella to build two villas in the bay in 1998.
Raymond Vella had presented another application in 2003 for the demolition of existing structures and the construction of residential units. The application is still being processed by MEPA.
The North West Local Plan, published in 2001 and which is still awaiting approval from parliament, listed Fekruna Bay as a protected site and redefined the development boundary to exclude Fekruna Bay from future development.
The developer instituted proceedings in the Constitutional Court for compensation following the scheduling of Fekruna Bay, and MEPA shelved its decision on the developer’s appeal.
Alternattiva Demokratika’s spokesperson Mark Causon told MaltaToday that his party will continue to defend this site from development despite the inclusion of this site in the new zones.
By the time of going to print MEPA has not replied to MaltaToday’s question on the inclusion of the Fekruna site in the new schemes.
jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt
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