Soul of Xagħra village ripped apart

I have lived in Xagħra for almost six years. Today I have seen the village square raped and with it the soul of the village destroyed. The bars and restaurants have had their external structures ripped down, tables taken away and pots of plants uploaded onto lorries.

Why?

Apparently, their incursion into the square is illegal and the appropriate permits not obtained - or granted. Ask the thousands of visitors who have enjoyed sitting out on a summer evening and enjoying the life of the square while eating a lovely meal or relaxing over a beer or glass of wine. What will happen next summer -- where will these visitors go?

One of the joys of Xagħra over many of the other villages on Gozo has been the vibrant life of the square, morning and evening. That is now over. How much easier and better for the life of the village would it have been to have granted the necessary permits and raised some extra revenue for the government.

Wonderful that we now have some extra room to park our cars in the square - though no reason any longer to be there.

It is bad enough that the quality of life of us all in our homes is being destroyed by Mepa. Within the 20-minute walk we take daily with our small dog, there are no less than 12 building sites. In one single track road alone, there is one house being built, a complex of, I believe, eight houses with pools, and two blocks of three storey flats with penthouse - 26 new homes in a small area, a single track road with no exit at one end. At least 26 more vehicles up and down a quiet back road and no passing places!

Planning? A child could do better! This is not to mention the fact that carob trees have been bulldozed, wild life areas levelled and that the balconies of one new building will make it highly unlikely that emergency vehicles will be able to get past to any of the old dwellings, and those still under construction, beyond it.

We have lived for the last three years with the constant noise of jack hammers, earth diggers and other building site vehicles.

Enough is, in this case, too much.

At least someone is making huge amounts of money out of all this and I suppose getting some satisfaction at these short-sighted decisions. That doesn't make me feel any happier about the soul of the village being ripped apart.