Mellieħa project

I refer to the report 'Proposed Mellieha project is 'a serious blow' to the environment' (The Sunday Times, April 27).

Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar is, of course, free to criticise the proposed development at Mellieħa. However it made gratuitous - and incorrect - comments about other projects I am involved in which cannot go unanswered. Take Santa Maria Estate: when Cenmed Limited developed the project in the 1960s, it was planned and built as a residential area for detached villas/bungalows surrounded by open space and garden.

In recent years, some owners have applied for and obtained planning permission from the Malta Environment and Planning Authority to demolish the properties as originally built and to redevelop them as semi-detached villas. It was the Mepa that gave the owners the green light. Turning to Tigné, the story is a long one, but for present purposes I will say this. When the project was initially conceived, the overall height was substantially lower than is now the case.

At the time, Mepa knew about the presence of the Garden Batter and took the view that this ought not to hinder the footprint to be developed.

Later, when excavations were already under way, the authorities concerned had a change of heart about the battery. They decided to preserve the battery, opting to raise the height of the overall development instead. It is, I suppose, a matter of opinion as to whether the choice made was the best one; but that choice was not made by the developers, Midi plc. Much less was it made by myself.