Government rejects proposal for experts to study Għadira road

The government has shot down a proposal, made by a Nationalist MEP candidate, for the environment impact of the proposed Għadira road to be assessed by experts appointed jointly by the authorities and people opposed to the project.

The proposal was made by Alan Deidun who said it would quell suspicions routinely raised about the integrity of such studies. If implemented it would be a first for local planning.

But the Transport Ministry immediately poured cold water on the proposal, even though it comes from a candidate of the same party in government. As a person so familiar with the planning process, the ministry said, Dr Deidun should know that "anyone wanting to express a view on a planning application can do so and, in any case, an application, even if made by the government, needs to comply with existing laws and policies to be approved".

Dr Deidun had stressed that the government's claim that the existing road is eroding the nearby beach (the central argument for substituting the existing bypass with an alternative) had to be substantiated by extensive modelling exercises explained in layman's terms.

But even here, the ministry did not take too well to the suggestion: "Dr Deidun knows enough about beaches and the environmental impact of building roads over them to be able to conclude that the existing Għadira road is environmentally undesirable and should be removed."

Dr Deidun had urged the government to turn the bypass controversy into an opportunity by using it as a case study in which objectors would be involved from the earliest stages.

The government's proposal was met with intense resistance from a number of farmers and organisations because the path through which the road may pass includes a nature reserve and afforestation site.

BirdLife has claimed that the removal of the existing road could pose a serious threat to the nearby valley and those parts of the nature reserve below sea level.