Sorry, wrong shaft

Imagine your child's bedroom window opening into a shaft which doubles as an air vent for car exhaust fumes. Incredible but true, this is how a new apartment complex in the extensive back garden of an old seafront property in Birzebbuga has been designed.

Developers have applied for a permit for 38 new apartments replacing three old houses in Birzebbuga's Urban Conservation Area. The development spills into the extensive garden of an old seafront house at Pretty Bay. The house on Pretty Bay Road is characterised by pillars and fretwork but is in a rundown state. Plans include knocking the house down to build a cafeteria which will be connected to the commercial part of the underground car park by a passageway.

The development includes an underlying garage on two levels of basement. A number of car spaces are envisaged but they are twice the number required by the block. A pedestrian entrance to the car park from a seafront cafeteria indicates that this is a commercial parking venture over and above the provision of off-street parking for the 38 new dwellings.

A number of garage ventilation shafts clearly line up with the shafts for the 38 residences when the two plans are compared. Bedroom, bathroom and kitchen windows are located in these shafts. Five more vents disguised as water drains in the access lane, an off-street canyon between the apartments, may also effect air quality in this confined space. Living room windows open onto the lane. A representation noting air quality concerns in relation to this development has been submitted to MEPA. Birzebbuga council has also been notified.

Permit application notices which are meant to be affixed to the site were not in evidence during the two weeks that the development was open to public comment. Development of complexes which effect buildings in more than one street should also be required to attach a notice to each separate property.

Traffic sense at QSS

A traffic Impact Statement for the proposed road and car park at Qui-si-sana would be a fine thing.

Diverting cars and trucks, which normally travel at a crawl down Bisazza Street, through the MIDI tunnel will slow the traffic flow even further. Because of two sharp bends in the tunnel the speed of vehicles at all times of day will be limited to no more than 32 km per hour. Huge tailbacks in Tower Road are expected as a result.

Under these circumstances, to what extent will a car park exit ramp add to the congestion if bumper-to-bumper traffic jams are to become the order of the day at Qui-si-sana seafront? We need to know.

An observer suggests that there should be a review of MEPA's Commuter Parking Payment Scheme (CPPS). It is quite right that any development must provide adequate parking. But it is wrong when developers cunningly try to get the public to pay for it.

A commercial centre bigger than Bay Street is set to blast a hole in the tranquillity that was Qui-si-sana. The mega-complex, which the Prime Minister appears to have been in the dark about until residents showed him the plans, will not be permitted unless the developers provide the required number of parking spaces. It would be a clever move to propose a car park as phase one without disclosing the rest of the plans upfront. Then the developers could lobby with the council to introduce residents' parking fees to help foot the bill for the car park they are obliged to build. A development of this scale will draw more traffic to the area.

A study commissioned by the Sliema council on parking requirements in Sliema shows that there is already adequate parking for the residents of Qui-si-sana. Why should they be made to pay? Measures need to be put in place to see that the CPPS is not abused and to stop developers getting off cheaply while dumping their problems on the local population.

Organic demand outstrips supply

Malta's farmers have been told they must unite and produce what the market wants if they are to survive. At the first in a series of locality meetings planned by the Malta Organic Agriculture Movement farmers from the Mellieha area were given the chance to express their views. Advice was given by various experts present on the challenges of converting to organic methods of agriculture at the meeting which was hosted by Mellieha council.

Once they decide to take the leap and go organic, farmers in Malta are now in a position to benefit locally from training sessions incorporating the combined knowledge of organic farmers from other Mediterranean countries.

Problems faced by farmers making the transition to organic are the same as those faced by farmers in Greece and Cyprus. A Leonardo da Vinci programme initiated by MOAM and Ceratonia Foundation links these countries under a fourth partner. Italy, a country with a well established background in organic farming, complements the Mediterranean backdrop.

Farmers who are still using conventional methods of agriculture, including certain harmful pesticides prohibited in organic farming, were warned that if they did not change then agriculture risked dying a natural death.

So far the experimental government farm at Ghammieri has done very well selling organic produce direct to households and to vegetable vendors.

Director of Agriculture Tony Mifsud, who was present at the meeting, told farmers that they must form co-operatives as they would not be able to meet the demand for organic produce on their own. APS Bank has demonstrated its faith in the future of organic agriculture and has given sponsorship to the project together with Maltanet and Tim Ltd.

MOAM president Mario Salerno did not mince words when speaking about the dim prospects for the environment if we fail to hold on to our agriculture: "If our farmers disappear we will be covered in concrete," he told the farmers. A number of farmers present agreed to co-operate and begin encouraging each other to make the switch to a product that would earn them a prized niche in both Malta and Europe.

When confronted with organic produce as an alternative to chemically grown produce many consumers still go for price and what looks good value. Organic farmer David Mallia comments:

"They will have, totally forgotten, the health benefits to themselves, never mind the environment. They will go on living experiencing ill health and even deaths of relatives and friends due to cancer, never realising the inter-relation at the supermarket while they compare prices. They will notice the degradation of the environment and also wonder about the dwindling number of fauna and flora in the countryside. They will remember the quantity and diversity of coloured butterflies, in their childhood days frolicking in the fields, compared to their absence today. But they will fail to make the link."

Water manager wanted

Commuters travelling on a rainy day risk losing their lives in flood prone areas. A tender document for a stormwater plan recalls the particularly heavy downfall of September 2003 when 216 mm, nearly half the average annual rainfall, flooded Malta in the space of six hours. The deluge qualified as a "major disaster" under EC regulations.

Europe recognises flooding as a threat to the economy, environment and public health. Following the storm damage a grant was obtained from the EU Solidarity Fund to finance emergency operations after the storm.

Responsibility for storm water is still a grey area in Malta. A stormwater plan is to be in place by the end of November 2007 following the issuing of a tender document by the Water Services Corporation. The document notes that the management of rainwater and valleys has been fragmented or non-existent.

The WSC invested itself with a legal responsibility for water management in 1992 but found that it did not have the necessary resources. By default the Ministry of Resources and Infrastructure took some measures covering valley and storm water management although some actions carried out have not always taken environmental and heritage considerations into full account.

The Drainage Department, now absorbed into WSC, tried to implement the Sewerage Master Plan designed to control the problem of sewage spills into the streets after heavy rains, but problems persisted. Stormwater loading the sewerage system to the point of overflow must be stopped by preventing any further illegal connections of domestic, commercial and street drains to the sewers. The tender mentions the possibility of a separate sewage system for new schemes since the present infrastructure can no longer cope.

One hopes that the proposals arising from the stormwater master plan for the Maltese Islands will result in the best use of this valuable resource. This would be a better course than mere run of the mill solutions where the main aim is to simply get rid of storm water by diverting it to the sea at lowest cost possible. This would be a terrible waste.

Ceratonia at Wardija Point

A WALK in April sunshine cooled by clifftop breezes last Sunday was followed by Gozo-style pizzas with goat's cheese and wine. Ceratonia Foundation organised the outing for all ages with a visit to the Punic tombs at Wardija Point.

The walkers enjoyed striking views of Xlendi and Dwejra below then proceeded to Santa Lucija where musicians played traditional instruments and entertained the group while all enjoyed local bread pudding and coffee.

The walk was marred by the sight of live bird lures in tiny cages evident at the many trapping sights along the route where illegal hunting hides clutter the landscape.

Judas trees

A Ta' Xbiex resident has complained of severe pruning of Judas trees in Triq l-Imradd. The local council says the contractor engaged is fully authorised by the Agriculture Department. A more sensitive approach to pruning is urged in view of the many similar complaints reaching this column.

Perhaps a refresher course for registered pruners could be arranged so that trees in various localities would not be denuded of every single leaf each time the pruning season comes around.

razammit@hotmail.com