Strategy of containment

In the second of a two-part article on the Gozo Local Plan Anne Zammit comments on fields, valleys and the waste transfer station

¤ In Gozo as in Malta there are to be no more new quarries for the time being since supplies of building stone from existing quarries will last until at least 2010.

¤ A practical measure proposed by the plan to encourage the use of motorcycles, already higher in Gozo than in Malta, is to ensure that motorcyclists are given better placed parking spaces in major developments.

¤ The Water Services Corporation is to go ahead with the construction of a water polishing plant at Ta' Cenc designed to remove contaminants from borehole water.

¤ The army base in Nadur Tal-Isopu overlaps a proposed Level 2 ecology zone.

¤ Afforestation is being proposed on stretches of abandoned land and degraded habitats. Monocultures with groves of only one tree type will not be allowed.

¤ Garigue areas in Gozo are less common. This makes the habitat all the more worthy of special protection in Gozo. The most extensive stretch of garigue occurs at Ta' Cenc.

¤ The hazards and visual impact associated with fuel storage facilities close to he Mgarr-Victoria link will be considered. A request for permission to develop such a facility is expected within the life of the plan.

¤ Scrapyard waste is being transferred to Malta from Gozo The final resting place of junked jalopies, they are both visually undesirable and a lesser known source of hazardous waste. Careless massing of waste oil on these sites can endanger underground drinking water aquifers. One thousand new cars enter Gozo every year.

¤ The edge of a development zone is a very sensitive area from a scenic point of view. This outer part of the settlement conveys the first critical impressions of a settlement to an approaching visitor. The urban edge has often been neglected and the situation is rendered more sensitive in areas where the edge of a Development Zone coincides with a ridge edge. A special policy in the Gozo Plan deals with this.

Preventing the sprawl of buildings into the Gozitan countryside contributes much to its conservation. The need is acknowledged to go a step further with active improvement of the rural environment following an overall strategy of sustainable development.

The Gozo Local Plan endeavours to conserve the countryside and coast, which it considers to be two of the most important natural resources and to "protect from inappropriate development".

Gozo is identified as offering "a landscape with a special appeal that attracts many visitors from Malta and abroad. The protection of this landscape is therefore essential to improve the quality of life." The fact that the economy of Gozo is heavily dependent on the picturesque landscape reinforces the argument for its protection.

One reason for the degradation of agricultural land has been fragmentation of land ownership. Under the Gozo plan MEPA is to refuse requests for agricultural development which would result in the subdivision of the land.

Some existing animal farms are to be relocated to Intensive Agriculture Zones near Sannat and around Qala.

The designation of Areas of High Landscape Value (AHLVs) is based on areas that have access to long distance views and the valleys. Divided into two categories, narrow V-shaped valleys are to be fully protected while U-shaped valleys, generally cultivated, are afforded a more flexible order of protection.

Traditional agriculture contributing to the unique landscape character is to be encouraged but no new structures, including greenhouses, will be allowed to impinge on the landscape.

The tendency for agricultural land to be progressively abandoned is particularly evident in the west of Gozo and on steep hillsides. Policy GZ-AGRI-8 envisages the co-operation of the Department of Agriculture on a management plan to return abandoned agricultural land to traditional cultivation.

The reinstatement of rubble walls, fruit trees and vines, cane windbreakers and the planting of local trees such as Aleppo Pine, Holm Oak, Olive, Carob, Fig and Date will help achieve this goal. Agricultural land at idyllic Wied Sabbar, off Mgarr ix-Xini, is threatened by yet another golf course proposal.

While the problem of houses lying vacant in Gozo is less pronounced than in Malta, a third of all residences are holiday homes left empty for much of the year. Land studies show that 5,000 plots are available within the development zone, more than enough to meet the increase in the number of households expected within the timeframe of the plan.

In the decade leading up to 2010 it is envisaged that the number of households will increase by 1,500. Yet MEPA has been granting building permits for dwellings in Gozo at what seems to be an excessive rate of nearly 800 a year. A clampdown is due.

Although "extremely unlikely", the MEPA plan includes a mechanism for making land outside the development zone available to meet "unforeseen demand", despite there being a "gross overprovision of land".

The land already set aside to accommodate the manufacturing industry is more than enough. The tendency has been to transfer operations from the Xewkija industrial estate to mainland Malta but the existing area will remain committed for any future possible industrial use. The factory rooftops at the industrial estate are identified as ideal for mounting solar panels.

International requirements and adherence to the sewerage master plan will see the closing down of sewage outlets at Wied Mielah and San Blas. An environment impact assessment (EIA) is currently being prepared for Ras il-Hobz, the chosen location for the new sewage plant.

The open waste dump at Xaghra tal-Qortin, which has on occasion bathed the tourist resort of Marsalforn in a pall of acrid smoke, is a rehabilitation candidate, just like its big sister Maghtab.

Rehabilitating the site to turn it into a recreational area for the public must be preceded by studies to assess the stability of the site and its safety for public use.