Save Hondoq ir-Rummien

Why Are the inhabitants of Gozo and the Ministry of Gozo allowing a few unscrupulous charlatans to rape and abuse what is left of it?

The last thing this island needs is another unsustainable concrete complex. The resources of this tiny island are already stretched to the limit.

Now, once again, greedy developers and speculators have their beady eyes on Hondoq ir-Rummien. A referendum was held in 2002 and 85 per cent of the Qala residents were against this Qala creek development. Now it appears that plans have again been presented to MEPA. Why hold a referendum if the results are not adhered to or ignored? Hopefully this is not another ploy to get permits passed quickly to gain votes in the upcoming election.

For many years this cove has been a part of life for the people from the surrounding area, people who have taken advantage of the relatively easy access to the clear waters of the Mediterranean to take their children there to paddle, swim and fish, or to collect snails, capers or whatever else was growing wild, as people still do today.

Despite the area being irrevocably damaged to a large degree by the quarry and the desalination plant, parts of it are, nevertheless, still relatively unspoilt and remain popular with the locals and tourists who are lucky enough to find it. Unfortunately it does need a lot of rehabilitation to try to undo some of the damage done in the past by unthinking or ignorant people. There are many options available, but they have to be very carefully considered to retain and enhance what is left of this beautiful cove.

This cove now appears to be in the process of being gang-raped by unscrupulous contractors/developers. Unless something is done to put a stop to this process now, the resulting "pregnancy" could become a "monster" comprising a 170-room, five-star hotel, 25 villas, 60 self-catering units and 200 multi-ownership residences (a smarter word for "time-share units") plus a village core, a church and a yacht marina.

We are all aware that several hotels have recently been demolished to make way for apartments or reclassified as apartments blocks, an indication that there are sufficient hotels available. There are currently several thousand on-plan/shell/unfinished or empty apartments on this island. In addition, there are hundreds of old, derelict, empty buildings in the villages which could be renovated into the beautiful town or farmhouses for which Gozo is famous. This means that another hotel and more apartments are really not sustainable or necessary.

A pseudo-village is already planned for Fort Chambray. I would therefore humbly suggest that Gozo does not need another one. A chapel already exists in Hondoq and most people would agree that there are sufficient places of worship in Gozo without building a new fake one.

This leaves us with a marina. Why destroy a beautiful natural cove to build a yacht marina when Mgarr, which is just around the corner, could conceivably be enlarged relatively easily?

Secondly, just think of the uncontrollable pollution: for example, boats cleaning their diesel and sewage tanks offshore, waste being dumped into the sea (unfortunately this does happen). At the weekends and during the holidays, one can already smell the diesel from the few visiting boats while swimming in the cove, and sometimes you can actually see it. It would mean the end of bathing in this area (nobody swims in Mgarr harbour, do they?). It could also have a very negative effect on Comino's environment too.

I am certainly not against development, but the rule in Gozo seems to be "quickly, quickly, knock it down, cover it with concrete, build it back up, make a lot of money - and knock it down again, and make some more money". It is far easier to destroy places of archaeological, historical or natural interest than to restore them again. The Gozo Stone Circle, Fort Chambray, various quarries, especially those near Qala and Dwejra, and, of course, parts of Ta' Cenc and Sanap cliffs, are just a few examples of thoughtless "development".

Please, at least try and preserve what is left of Hondoq ir-Rummien and don't let the politicians and developers use it as a "vote" weapon.