Villa Bologna needs buffer zone, FAA insists

Pro-environment lobby Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar has welcomed the listing of Villa Bologna in Attard as a Grade 1 national monument but is worried that the area known as Ta' Fġieni behind the property is still threatened by development.

FAA repeated its call for an immediate revision of the Malta Environment and Planning Authority's local plan for the area and for Ta' Fgieni square to be turned into a public garden to create a buffer zone near the national monument, a call that has been echoed by Attard council.

FAA chairman Astrid Vella said that, according to the plan, there was already a shortage of recreational areas in Attard and over 1,000 vacant housing units. With several large complexes being built, development will increase significantly.

"Building more flats destined to remain empty defies all logic," she said, adding that the issuing of permits to develop Ta' Fġieni square would not only rob residents of light, air and recreational space but also erode much of the benefit of listing Villa Bologna as a national monument.