PN reiterates call to expropriate Ħondoq as local council reaches agreement on expropriation

The Qala local council has approved a motion by minority leader Karl Buttigieg to formally ask the government to expropriate Ħondoq ir-Rummien so that it might be transformed into a national park.

Earlier this month, the Court of Appeal confirmed the rejection of an appeal by the developers in the 22-year-old saga at Ħondoq ir-Rummien in Gozo.

In a statement, the PN said that by approving Buttigieg's plan, the local council had now endorsed a PN demand that the property be purchased by the government and turned into a park.

It was also noted that Gozo minister Clint Camilleri and Prime Minister Robert Abela had first mocked the proposal, as it noted that Abela had mentioned the site's protection against development but had made no mention of plans for the government to acquire it and turn it into a park. 

The PN made note of the fact that, everything in Ħondoq is privately owned, save for the quay and beach, and that the only way to guarantee that no new construction applications surfaced was to transfer the property to the government.