Calls for withdrawal of development brief

The government's arrogance over the Qui-Si-Sana development brief was confirmed by an official statement on parking in the locality, Alternattiva Demokratika's representative on the Sliema local council, Michael Briguglio, said.

The official statement said that the developer of the proposed Qui-Si-Sana car park cannot charge residents for parking in the residents' parking zone (RPZ) in line with the area's development brief. But anyone who is conversant with the brief will notice that this is not the case because it lays down that any proposals for the RPZ should specify "estimation of any nominal annual fee for residents participating in the RPZ", Mr Briguglio said.

The Sliema local council had asked the Prime Minister for a meeting over the issue but five months later no appointment has been set, forcing the council to write to the Ombudsman on the matter, Mr Briguglio added.

He said the only way to ensure that the public garden in Qui-Si-Sana will not be transformed into a commercial centre and a polluted car park is to withdraw the development brief. Additionally, the RPZ should be entrusted to the local council so that residents and non-residents will be able to park for free.