ITS-dB: Residents, NGOs ask Planning Authority to reject project in its entirety

Residents, mayors and NGOs have come together in an appeal towards the Planning Authority to outright reject the ITS-dB project proposal next Thursday.

During a press conference on Tuesday, residents and NGOs reiterated their objection to the dB group’s ITS Pembroke tourism development. The planning directorate’s go-ahead will be discussed by the Planning Authority’s Planning Board on Thursday 10 June.

“We will all come and go, but our mistakes will remain for the years after. I encourage the Board to understand their responsibilities,” St Julian’s mayor Albert Buttigieg said.

He described the project as an obscenity that will have many negative effects on the lives of nearby residents, while praising residents for attending the press conference and making their voice heard.

On his part, Swieqi mayor Noel Muscat questioned the necessity of the project, and whether it is feasible for Malta’s size and carrying capacity.

“Do we really need all these projects?” he asked. “The more I meet with architects the more I see that this project is unnecessary.”

A Pembroke resident, Rita Zammit, said that the local residents are annoyed by the project, and scared that the PA will in fact approve the permit on 10 June.

She said that the project will end up bringing Paceville to the centre of Pembroke, with those living within a close distance from the project having no say on the issue.

Zammit further noted how the project requires a tunnel, that will be paid for through public funds. The Planning Authority’s case officer’s go-ahead for dB’s project is based on the assumption that Infrastructure Malta will excavate a 1.4km tunnel that must pass beneath a protected Natura 2000 site.

“They will build this tunnel at all costs,” she said.

Andre Callus, an activist with Moviment Graffitti, explained that the fight against this project goes beyond Pembroke, and symbolises something bigger.

“This is about the future we’re imagining for Malta and Gozo,” he said. “Throughout its 27 years, Moviment Graffitti have objected to many different projects - this is one of the worst, if not the worst project to be proposed.”

Callus appealed for the Planning Board to reject the proposal by a majority vote, but also to categorically state that projects of this nature should not be brought to the Board in the first place.

Rafel Grima, a Pembroke resident and activist with Moviment Graffitti, pointed out how the project garnered 17,000 objections over the span of four planning periods - a record-breaking figure by usual standards.

He further noted how residents and activists successfully apealed the permit in court, and in turn managed to have the permit revoked until a new blueprint was presented.

“The plans proposed continue to ignore the crucial and essential elements - the infrastructure as it is now, and the needs of residents,” Grima said.

No members of the Pembroke Local Council were present at the press conference, but Pembroke mayor Dean Hili told MaltaToday that the council's position on the project has remained unchanged. However, Hili said that the Council acknowledges that positive amendments have been made to the project plans over the years.