Under fire ERA defends Comino tree uprooting decision

As public outrage continues to grow over ERA’s decision to greenlight the uprooting of trees for private development in Comino, the environmental authority has published a Facebook justifying its position by showing where new trees will be transplanted.

It also detailed how non-protected trees will be removed from the site, insisting the decision was based on scientific advice from experts and on Maltese law.

The development is still under appeal in front of the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal.

The Environmental and Resource Authority (ERA) said on Tuesday 624 non-protected trees will be removed from the site, including 468 oleanders, 125 Mexican fan palms and 31 Canary Island date palms.

Oleanders are typically protected under Malta’s Trees and Woodlands Protection Regulations, but only when they occur in the wild. However, the 468 oleanders on the site were horticulturally grown and therefore not considered protected specimens.

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A further 54 protected trees will be removed, comprising 33 Aleppo pines and 21 cypress trees. Their removal is subject to a compensation ratio of 10 new trees for every protected tree removed, meaning 540 indigenous trees must be planted on the site, ERA said.

It said the developer must also submit a compensation plan to ensure that appropriate species are selected for the area.

Another 348 trees will be transplanted within the project site. Any tree that does not survive transplantation must likewise be compensated for at a ratio of 10 new trees for every failed transplant, ERA said.

ERA continues to receive criticism over its decision to approve preliminary environmental works for the proposed Six Senses Comino development, including the uprooting of around 800 trees.

The approval allows site preparation works to proceed while legal proceedings challenging the wider project remain ongoing. It covers landscaping, pre-construction surveys and the installation of hoarding, subject to conditions imposed by ERA.

NGOs, including Moviment Graffitti have criticised the decision, arguing that allowing the works to proceed before its legal challenge against the planning permit is concluded could result in irreversible environmental damage.

It warned if Hili Group proceeds with construction works while its court case against the Planning Authority permit remains unresolved, it will mount what it described as a “ferocious fight”.

“We will not let them destroy Comino,” Graffitti said, referring to Albania as a warning.

HV Hospitality, the company behind the project, has disputed the 800-tree figure.

It said there are around 2,500 trees and shrubs on the site, of which approximately 1,900 are alien, invasive or ecologically incompatible species whose removal is intended to restore native habitats.

Of around 600 native and protected trees and shrubs, the company said approximately 550 would be transplanted, while around 50 would be permanently removed. Each permanently removed specimen would be compensated at a ratio of 1:10.

The project’s wider environmental programme, HV Hospitality said, would introduce around 55,000 new trees and plants and restore more than 8,200sq.m of previously developed land to its natural state.

The Nationalist Party on Tuesday also commented on the project, that allowing works to proceed before an appeal is decided risks rendering the process meaningless, particularly where works already carried out cannot be reversed if the permit is later revoked.

While this is permitted under current planning law, the government is currently consulting on proposed reforms to the planning appeals system which would automatically suspend works until an appeal is decided.