Councils being "undermined"

Labour Party deputy leader Charles Mangion has accused the government of undermining local councils.

Addressing a news conference at Birzebbuga, he referred to requests being made by the Birzebbuga council for land currently being used as a scrap yard by the Freeport to be transformed into a bus terminus, and said the government should take into consideration the council's valid requests.

The Labour Party's councils spokesman, Chris Cardona, said that although the government paid lip service to consultation with councils, it was not listening to them.

Birzebbuga mayor Joseph Farrugia said the council had been in negotiations with the government and the Freeport to acquire the land for years.

The terminus, he said, was currently in the centre of the locality and this was having a bad impact on many families who lived in the area.

Now that it was being said that the Freeport was to be privatised, the council was afraid that this land would be passed on to new owners.

The council believed something had to be done quickly for this land, which also according to the local plan could not be used by the Freeport, to be utilised for the benefit of Birzebbuga residents who suffered a lot of inconvenience because of the Freeport's activity.