I refer to a letter by Andrè Chetcuti (December 6).

Mr Chetcuti criticises the "anti-car park lobby" for wanting to perpetuate the status quo and worrying that the underground car park will affect the value of their property. If perpetuating the status quo means preserving Qui-Si-Sana Garden's wide open spaces and fresh sea air, where children can play in a pollution-free environment and where the elderly can relax in peace and quiet, then what is wrong with preserving this uniquely tranquil part of Sliema?

The argument against the car park has nothing to do with adversely affecting the value of one's property.

It is about adversely affecting the environment and about a total lack of need for a car park at Qui-Si-Sana in the first place.

Mr Chetcuti mentions "landscaping the Qui-Si-Sana area".

What landscaping? One whole floor of the car park (7,000 square metres) is to be devoted to commercial outlets, including restaurants, a bar, a cafeteria, a theatre and a 24-lane bowling alley among other things.

These outlets will only be partly underground since the garden is going to be split level with the lower level servicing some of these outlets by giving them outdoor space. This part will no longer be a garden but will have a hard surface.

This will result in Qui-Si-Sana residents having to put up with noise and odour of food generated by these "underground" outlets in the late hours of the night.

The remaining street level, half of a now dismembered garden, having lost half its open space, may also, according to the Qui-Si-Sana Development 2002, end up without its trees. Landscaping indeed!

As for the car park itself, assuming that it will be a success, which is doubtful, an enormous environmental hazard of traffic congestion will be created by its entrance/exit on the main Qui-Si-Sana road with all the exhaust fumes of idle running engines being inhaled by the residents of the area. This will be exacerbated by the pedestrianisation of Bisazza Street and a nearby part of Tower Road.

Mr Chetcuti mentions off-street parking as a solution to enable Sliema residents to find a place to park their cars. The Qui-Si-Sana car park project will, however, not do this.

The existing High Street car park is never full. Moreover, when the Tignè Point, Town Square and Chalet projects will be completed there will be over 2,000 car park spaces available which will also never be full, always bearing in mind that they will be against payment. Why, therefore, ruin the one quiet spot left in Sliema and create another 700 parking spaces together with commercial outlets in a residential area?

All these 2,000 parking spaces will be situated at Sliema's extreme eastern edge in, or close to, the cul-de-sac of the Qui-Si-Sana/Tignè peninsula. How will these serve visitors to Sliema who want to go to Dingli Street, let alone those whose destination is Old College Street in the west?

Even if there were need for more parking space in Sliema's eastern edge why, therefore, remove the much used car park at the Ferries, something which is needlessly laid down in the development brief?

A car park at Qui-Si-Sana is not needed. The government should rethink this whole parking problem from scratch and come up with a solution which is not based on data and a situation which were only relevant 11 years ago as is the case with the development brief.

Meanwhile, this brief should be scrapped before more environmental harm is needlessly done to a residential area.