[WATCH] Joseph Muscat believes db development compromise is possible

A “good compromise” for undertaking the proposed development on the former Institute for Tourism site in Pembroke, by the db group, should be possible, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has said, emphasising that such a project had to be done sensibly and in a way which respected the neighbourhood.

Asked whether he agreed with the planned development, Muscat told MaltaToday that it was a matter of being for or against it, but what was important was to ensure it was done in a sensible manner.

Hundreds of people gathered in Pembroke on Wednesday, to protest the proposal of a high-rise hotel development, which residents say will turn the residential area of Pembroke into a touristic area and an extension of Paceville. 

“I have spoken with Pembroke’s mayor and with its councillors,” the Prime Minister, adding that the local council had “not only the right, but the duty to listen to residents and represent their views.”

Asked whether - considering that the government had an interest in the project, since it had already issued the land transfer contract for the area proposed for developed - a consideration of the impact on residents should have happened before the land was transferred, Muscat said that while the state agreed that a project should take place, the effect on residents would be something within the Planning Authority’s remit.