Permanent building site

Up to 25 years ago, the three villages of Attard, Balzan and Lija were renowned for their large citrus gardens. One would walk the narrow streets of these villages amidst the heavy smell of the citrus blossoms. These gardens made these villages unique and for this reason these villages were the prime choice of all those looking for a new residence.

As a consequence of their popularity these villages expanded at a very fast rate. The population of Attard more than tripled over the past 20 years.

This unbridled development led to the destruction of most of the old gardens to be replaced with blocks of apartments and new houses. Infact, although the local plan for these villages has a presumption against the destruction of gardens, development permits are still being issued to replace gardens with residential units even within the historic core of these villages as has happened recently in Balzan.

Most of the gardens that have made these villages famous are no more.

This situation has now become much worse with the height relaxation policy adopted by Mepa. In terraced house areas Mepa now allows the construction of three-storey residential blocks with an overlying penthouse and an underlying semibasement garage.

Three-storey apartment blocks are being constructed instead of the terraced houses and villas which were built less than 20 years ago. Similar developments are sometimes also permitted within the Urban Conservation Areas.

These three villages, like the rest of Malta, have now become a permanent building site with existing buildings being replaced by new developments practically everywhere.

It is not only the gardens that made these villages so famous which have disappeared, but also the peace and quiet that was previously the hallmark of these villages.

The situation is made worse by the fact that little or no attention is given to the concern of neighbours. This in spite of the annunciation of new building regulations which to date have proved ineffective.

The authorities, and in particular Mepa, should consider redevelopment within the Urban Conservation Area much more rigorously and should apply a blanket prohibition against any large-scale development within established gardens. Furthermore, any proposed development within established residential areas should be considered in such a manner so as not to compromise the existing streetscape while ensuring that the development does not cause undue hardship to neighbours.