Gozo's attractiveness under threat

I am writing to The Times out of my distress for what's happening in Gozo.

I purchased my house on Triq San Pietru, Għarb in 2004 and was assured that the land behind my house was green land (as a matter of fact, the land was actually being farmed). Was this the ignorance of the people I was dealing with, or my ignorance as a newcomer to this country? Either way, this was obviously not correct.

In July 2002 - October 2002 when the draft local documents were available to the public, the two houses directly affected were undergoing total renovation and as such were uninhabited, so there was nobody to protest against these boundaries.

Since I arrived here in Għarb, two houses have been constructed directly opposite to my house, with large windows overlooking my own bedroom window (the only window in this room). Triq San Pietru is a very narrow street, so I see a future behind closed shutters.

When you combine this with the new proposal to build directly behind my house, this all adds up to a total infringement of my privacy.

I can assure you that there are many people in Gozo who are unhappy to see the island going through such drastic changes. There is really not much here for visitors who are not boating or diving people; few beaches, no golf course, just the rural charm and quaintness of a green island. This is something quite unique to Gozo, something that is not available in many other places, and in my view is the island's biggest attraction. So it would be very sad and, in my opinion, foolish to allow what has happened in so many other places in this part of the world, such as much of Spain, to happen here.

In this regard, I quote from Joe Muscat, the secretary of the Gozo Tourism Association, in his piece entitled Hitting, Missing Niche Markets in the June 15 edition of The Times: "As a destination, Gozo must define what makes it distinctive in order to understand the best strategy to attract guests who will appreciate what this little island has to offer, and at the same time leave the much needed positive impact on the local economy."

Many rural areas here are already overdeveloped and full of empty houses, yet it seems there is more construction beginning every day. Here, I quote from Maltese artist and illustrator Kenneth Zammit Tabona's editorial entitled Knocking Me Down With A Feather (June 17): "[Gozo] seems to have been made of a different material and fashioned by a different hand to Malta; it is poetically dramatic and unique and, yet, we are destroying it piecemeal. The artistic editing that must be exercised every time we paint in Gozo is becoming more drastic."

Aside from the obvious impact this level of development has on the attractiveness of Gozo as a tourist destination, you have to wonder if this is economically desirable, particularly in light of the challenging nature of the current global economic environment.

I do trust, and hope that the Prime Minister will stick to his promises in the matter regarding overbuilding in Malta and Gozo.