The destruction of Mellieha

The Tourism Minister and other top tourism officials have gone on record saying that the extensions to the building development zones, rushed through Parliament last July together with local plans without proper public consultation, are part of the government's efforts to boost tourism!

Those responsible for our tourism policies have not understood that a new tourism is emerging - sustainable, environmentally and socially responsible. A new type of tourist is driving it: more educated, experienced, independent, conservation-minded, respectful of cultures and insistent on value for money.

As we continue to destroy more of our country we are making it more difficult for ourselves to attract the growing number of this new type of tourist. We cannot hope to have a future in the new tourism taking shape worldwide if we continue to choke this country with more buildings and destroy the little countryside we have left.

Why would tourists want to come to an overcrowded and overbuilt destination where most of the new urban environment is soulless and undermines our mental and physical health?

Construction was justly the principal motive of criticism of the Algarve in Portugal by the secretary-general of the World Tourism Organisation, during the commemorations of World Tourism Day, a few days ago. Francesco Frangialli said he is "shocked" with the "excess of construction in the Algarve" and that the region "has to avoid this congestion" so as not to repeat the errors of Spain where "soon the coastline will be totally occupied".

"The lesson that Mediterranean island economies must learn from the cases of Malta and the Balearics is that special attention must be given to the environment, without overlooking all the other factors that determine the quality of a tourism product, such as skilled labour and the development of a Regional Innovation System: a basic tool in the training of human capital and, by extension, in guaranteeing optimum productivity and competitive capacity."

This is the conclusion of a report on 'The Recent Evolution and Impact of Tourism in the Mediterranean: The Case of Island Regions, 1990-2002 prepared by Carles Manera and Jaume Garau Taberner of the University of the Balearic Islands, published last August.

This study shows how Maltese tourism has been declining for a number of years while it has been expanding in nearby islands, among them Sicily, Corsica and Sardinia, which "show lower levels of population congestion and overdevelopment than Malta and the Balearics."

This study also concludes that both Malta and the Balearics "show symptoms of a structural incapacity to attract tourists from new issuing markets. The drop in the number of overnight stays, shrinking tourist expenditure and the reduction of the average length of stay are all proof of this. The deterioration of the environment and difficulty in competing through prices both hinder the exportation of tourism services."

A few hours before I read this report a friend sent me this e-mail: "You have caught me just as I've flown in from Taormina, broken-hearted by the sight of so many unspoilt hillsides which they were even capable of keeping the Mafia's hands off, and yet we are unable to do it here!"

I replied saying that Sicily is the largest under-populated Mediterranean island while we are the tiniest overpopulated island state. But my friend came back at me: "Of course you're right about Malta being a much more heavily populated island but this is a very dangerous excuse being exploited by the current government. It would hold good if it were not for the 23,000 empty residences (I prefer to quote that figure as I believe the figure of 40,000 includes summer homes) and 'abusive' tourism projects which are blighting our land."

At the end of August the Website Tax-News.com quoted this view of the Tribune Property Company: "Malta is an island with a finite amount of land, and while the Malta government view releasing more land for building, and more properties as the answer to increasing property prices, we believe this is the wrong approach, and in the end more developments could have an adverse impact on Malta's economy.

"Tourism is an important industry for Malta, and tourists aren't impressed by cranes and construction work while they're trying to relax or go to see Malta's historical sights, and if it's a first visit to the island there's an increased chance that it will be their last, losing the Malta holiday industry repeat business."

Pleasing the speculators

Three weeks ago I wrote about the rape of Mellieha. I received a strong response about the issues I raised and I would like to share some of the letters I got.

This is what a British resident told me: "I came here to settle over 20 years ago and the gradual gobbling up of land within and the open spaces on the periphery of the village have changed its character completely.

"My relatives who are living in England no longer come to visit - they say their annual holidays can be spent in much nicer and cheaper places; that the village is not the same place they have visited regularly until three years ago. I remember them telling me how they heard one young woman on the coach taking her to her hotel commenting 'My God, it's a giant building site, and we've got to spend two weeks here'!"

"One more thing - these greedy developers have not looked into the future to see the legacy they are leaving their children and grandchildren... money isn't everything, is it? If you look round the hotels and holiday flats in Mellieha they are mostly half empty (or less) for most of the year, so why build more when they cannot fill these? Their logic (or lack of it) is beyond me..."

Even Mellieha residents are worried: "Like the majority of the residents, I am concerned at the way our once pristine village has turned into another Xemxija-like jungle. The point of my letter is to bring to your attention what I consider as moving the goalposts to please a particular team.

"The Urban Conservation Area (UCA) of Mellieha has been reduced and the only logical reason I see in this is to please the speculators. The law-abiding citizens who have built their properties according to the UCA, meaning not exceeding two floors, Maltese balconies and doors, remissa-type garages and weathered Maltese stone façades are suddenly going to be dwarfed and buried by adjacent blocks which are five storeys high.

"According to MEPA, these areas now have the right to a basement garage, three layers of stone elevated ground floor, first and second floor on the front, receded penthouse and lift room. I complained to MEPA over a block because its ground floor was elevated by six layers of stone and was told that even this is acceptable. After the villagers spent all that extra money to have a house with Maltese characteristics, they are being dwarfed by speculators who do not give two hoots about the village.

"All this is done with the blessing of MEPA and our government. As a resident of Mellieha, I would like to know why our UCA has been reduced. In what way has the village improved thanks to this amendment? Are we once again bowing to the speculators' demands? Can these questions be asked in Parliament as I feel that the Mellieha community as a whole needs to know."

Cries of despair are also being raised by hundreds of residents in Mellieha Heights and Santa Marija Estate. They are very worried that the changes made to the local plan draft of 2001, and introduced in the final draft of July 2006 without any public consultation as requested by law. High buildings are being sanctioned that will continue to destroy Mellieha's characteristics, with a lot of harmful consequences for the residents.

A couple living in Mellieha Heights told me: "We were told that at this point we cannot do much, since the Local Plan has passed through Parliament and was approved; that's that, and we as residents have to stay quiet and let everything happen and simply wait anxiously to see what these people will actually build.

"To be honest, we have been living here for the past year and we are already tired of the situation Mellieha is in. Everything that Mellieha is - the beautiful landscape, the silence, the tranquillity - the reason why we came here is disappearing. Let's face it: we have paid a lot of money simply to have the location and the view we have today, and it is really sad that all this is happening."

The same is happening to hundreds of residents who live in their bungalows and villas near a zone between Tas-Sellum and Santa Marija Estate, which had been designated as a transition area prohibiting the building of high blocks. The local plan of 2006 changed all that without any public consultation process as requested by law. Many Mellieha residents believe that changes in the local plan have been introduced hurriedly and stealthily to please speculators who do not care that the village is being destroyed.

evaristbartolo@hotmail.com