Ta’ Qali gravel under scrutiny again

The grass is getting greener across Malta, but not in Ta’ Qali, where a layer of gravel laid at the start of the summer was the centre of a massive controversy two months ago.

Last September, people were up in arms when the Ta’ Qali family picnic area was covered in a blanket of sand and gravel to protect the soil underneath. That area had long been used as an events space, causing the soil underneath to clump up  and making it hard for grass to grow.

Jason Micallef, who heads the Ta’ Qali park unit, insisted that this is a special material that will allow grass to naturally sprout again once the autumn and winter rains come.

The first rains have come, but the grass isn’t sprouting.

Żebbuġ mayor Steve Zammit Lupi posted a photo taken on Sunday afternoon of the gravel in Ta’ Qali. He said that while the rest of the Maltese countryside is starting to take on a green appearance, in Ta’ Qali this is not the case. Grass is only growing in the small patches of the area where no gravel was laid.

“The grass can never grow as it used to,” he said. “In fact, the only grass species growing in isolated patches is Bermuda Grass (niġem), one of the most aggressive species (which grows in harsh and dry conditions.”

He quoted a MaltaToday interview with arborist Jonathan Henwood, who said: “Covering the picnic area with gravel intended to tackle the dust problem will only further impoverish the soil, by effectively ‘sterilising it’.”

Zammit Lupi said it was a major mistake to dump gravel in the area, but the authorities still have time to reconsider this. “Get your hands dirty, remove the gravel, expose the soil and give it good treatment. Then leave nature to recover and regenerate without further delay.”

Political party Momentum released a statement on Monday promising to put pressure on the authorities to be honest about the gravel decision.

The party submitted a Freedom of Information request on 4 September asking for detailed information on the gravel. A month later, they sent a follow-up reminder.

Last week, Momentum asked the Information and Data Protection Commissioner for help. He said he will look into the matter and make sure the authority respects its obligations under the FOI act.

“We will not allow the truth to be hidden behind silence on this issue,” said Momentum general secretary Mark Camilleri Gambin. “Thousands of euros must have been spent on this disaster, which has not only killed the vegetation in the family park in Ta’ Qali but has rendered the area dangerous for any children playing there.”