Concern over `rampant` development at Xemxija

Nature Trust (Malta) is concerned by what it says is the rampant development taking place at Xemxija/Mistra.

"Nature Trust (Malta) expresses its deepest disillusionment at the extent and nature of building development currently undergoing at Xemxija along the road leading to the rebuilt church," it said in a statement.

It highlighted the abnormal extent of such a development, with "literally tens of building cranes dominating the skyline, thus turning the new location into a veritable new hamlet, ensuring that Xemxija loses its quaint identity and is turned into a new St Paul`s Bay".

It singled out the blocks of tourist apartments being cut into the cliff face, saying these were resulting in rows upon rows of eyesore buildings visible even from Mellieha and Selmun.

"Especially disconcerting is the fact that some of the new development lies just a few hundred metres away from the Roman road, from the road leading to the restored apiaries and from the Mizieb afforestation site on Bajda Ridge, a garigue site frequently branded as being wasteland," it said.

Nature Trust also mentioned Xemxija Heights, saying this had "fallen well under the axe of land speculation with plush villas being built and advertised at alarming rates".

It appealed to the Planning Authority and other appropriate authorities to ensure that development lay within the precincts of a development zone and that Xemxija was not allowed to mushroom further.

"If such basic tenets are not adhered to, NT believes that a carbon copy of St Paul`s Bay will result at Xemxija, with haphazard development being the order of the day, to the detriment of natural habitats and public enjoyment in the area."