Mistra development - a welcome addition to Xemxija

Tourists will quite understandably wish to see the major attractions of the Maltese islands preserved, as do people in village cores in Gozo sitting outside their dwellings, as they have done for generations. However, Xemxija is not your traditional village core, which would have no place for a development like that being proposed for Mistra.

With the Xemxija skyline already full of eight-storey apartments plus penthouses, the proposed development at the former Mistra Village site can only be viewed as a welcome departure from the sort of development that would have condemned the area to up to 1,400 bog-standard units for which the developers would probably be the first to agree the market is saturated.

The Malta Environment and Planning Authority stated it has spent four years rigorously debating this proposed development and the approved design is fully compliant with all the relevant policies. It further states that several design options were considered, including a central tower, but these were set aside to ensure no regulations were infringed and to reduce the visual impact.

With the maximum height on the Xemxija ridge set at eight floors (though it is 11 storeys at the lowest point), I don't think that the Mistra development can be referred to as a high building. This appears to be a quality development with a high standard of design built in, plus the target market of residents it will attract.

No wonder the local council and members of the commercial community have welcomed the development and are supporting it. It is unfair to write off any development.