Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq caravan site proposed in area where bathing is prohibited

The Environment Health Directorate is not objecting to a proposed ‘temporary’ caravan site on part of the disused coast road at Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq, provided that a  number of conditions which include the prohibition of bathing in the area, are adhered to.

The proposed caravan site is being proposed by the Environment Ministry and Infrastructure Malta and is still awaiting the approval of the Planning Authority, even if a number of caravans are already found in the area.

One of the proposed conditions is that “bathing should not be practiced since coastline from off Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq towards St Paul’s Bay up to and including Qalet San Marku is considered a non-bathing area.”

The EHD is also insisting that a committee should be responsible to manage the area and that this should be responsible for a waste management plan to prevent any accumulation of waste, pests and the dumping of waste and foul water in to the sea.

Recently hunting organisation Kaċċaturi San Ubertu warned that the approval of the application would aggravate an “already serious” situation resulting from illegally parked caravans in the area. In its objection with the Planning Authority, the hunting group submitted photos of filth and waste left on site by caravan owners, who already use the area abusively.

“Caravans are littering the site, emptying their excrements over the rocky shore, doing their business under the trees, keeping generators 24/7 and vandalising the trees and signs,” the organisation said.

The Naxxar local council had also expressed its concern on the disposal of sewage into the sea.

The proposed temporary caravan site is next to a roundabout opposite the Magħtab landfill, occupying a stretch of abandoned road that used to form part of the Coast Road. The area is 4,000sq.m in size. It is adjacent to another stretch of disused coast road allocated to KSU to develop a bird observatory that will include brackish water ponds for wader species. Both sites are in the vicinity of the Għadira tas-Safra, a Natura 2000 site.