Council wants to meet PM about withdrawing brief

The Sliema local council has agreed to ask for a meeting with Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi during which it would ask him to withdraw the 2002 Qui-si-Sana development brief.

The decision was taken during a highly charged meeting on Wednesday.

The council had already requested a meeting with Dr Gonzi, but in a letter that was read by council secretary Lino Bartolo during Wednesday's meeting, the Prime Minister asked to be briefed about the issue first.

Councillor Michael Brigulio said the council should write back to the Prime Minister telling him that the council was no longer in favour of the Qui-si-Sana project, demanding new consultations with the residents about the latest development brief and stressing that they were against the commercialisation of the site.

However, it was decided to simply ask the Prime Minister for a meeting, during which the council would ask him to withdraw the development brief.

Mayor Albert Bonello Dupuis recommended that the council writes to the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA), asking for the planning application to be dismissed, but councillor Martin Debono said it was only the Cabinet which could withdraw the brief.

The council meeting was attended by a handful of Qui-si-Sana residents, who are livid that a car park and commercial area are being proposed in the area.

In a letter sent to the council, the Qui-si-Sana Residents' Association said the residents "reject outright" the idea of a car park underneath the gardens, adding that their lives and the value of their property would be directly and adversely affected by the project if this was to go ahead.

The association said that despite objections to the 1999 brief, Mepa "shocked the residents by reinventing the brief in 2002 without consulting either the residents or the local council".

Moreover, the association said, the brief was based on 1995 data even though Sliema had changed radically over the past 10 years.

"How is it possible to present a development based on 10-year-old information? The present situation calls for a well-researched, viable plan that takes into account the needs of the whole town, not of a few entrepreneurs."

Sliema, the association said, was rapidly increasing in density and cried out for open space and green areas, adding that the Qui-si-Sana garden was the only such remaining area in the eastern part of the town. It said any construction, whether underground or not, would totally destroy the character of the area.

A car park would attract more traffic to the area, increasing car exhaust fumes and noise pollution. Moreover, the car park would lead to greater congestion and Sliema already had enough commercial outlets, with no need for more.

There was no sound data showing the need for another car park in the Tigné area. It was "nonsense" to concentrate all the car parks in the eastern peninsula of Sliema.

"Sliema requires a holistic approach and a vision for the next 10 to 20 years. It is no good to haphazardly plan as projects come up," it said.