Keep it minimal: ERA’s advice on Comino development

The construction of boat mooring facilities in the Blue Lagoon should only be considered as part of a holistic management plan for Comino, the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) said in its reaction to a project proposed by the Gozo Ministry to construct a 660sq.m pier along with the reconstruction of the road leading to the Blue Lagoon.

ERA noted that the proposal is located in an area which is “exceptionally sensitive” in terms of scenic, geological, geomorphological and ecological aspects.

“The project needs to be set in the context of a holistic environmentally-oriented management plan”.

Moreover, the project should be kept as “minimalistic” as possible so as not to significantly alter the “sensitive environment and landscape” of the area.

ERA has also requested that the proposal is redesigned with a more minimalistic approach which retains a more natural character and the proposed pier extension should be temporary and demountable.

The plans for the pier and the reconstruction of the road leading to the Blue Lagoon are designed by Doric Studio, the same company entrusted with preparing a masterplan for Comino which has still to be approved and is still being discussed with the Environment and Resources Authority.

Last month a Gozo Ministry spokesperson told MaltaToday that the latest application is “not related to the plan being discussed with ERA.”

The ministry claims that the urgency to present the application was dictated by the fact that there is “an imminent danger and risk that the road collapses”.

In May, environment minister Josè Herrera had claimed that the Comino masterplan was aimed to modernise berthing arrangements at the Blue Lagoon in an eco-friendly manner, including new restrictions on anchoring to safeguard the marine environment.

Plans show that the new pier will consist of steel deck beams erected on supporting pillars which indicates that the infrastructure will be of a permanent nature.

As a Natura 2000 site, Comino is subject to a management plan published in 2015.

The plan calls for the urgent implementation of a carrying capacity assessment for the Blue Lagoon, including seasonal variability of number of tourists, landings of tourists by ferries, entrance fee options, zoning and patrolling.

It also lays down that tourism at the Blue Lagoon and elsewhere should be “practised in harmony with the site’s conservation needs”.

The local plan approved in 2006 had earmarked San Niklaw and the Blue Lagoon bay areas as a possible site for a “destination port”. In 2010, the PA approved an application by Transport Malta to erect a small demountable jetty at the Blue Lagoon on the footprint of the dilapidated part of an existing quay.

Back in 2006 the Planning Authority had already refused an application for a fixed permanent structure in the same location because of its visual and ecological impact. It said that “further human intervention, particularly in the form proposed, is not desirable” and that the proposal would adversely affect the area, hinder its protection, and run counter to the rural conservation and ecological objectives of the Structure Plan.