New Iklin project in locality’s interest – mayor
Plans to build local council offices and other facilities on a site close to the square in Iklin will go ahead despite a petition signed by 316 residents opposing the proposal.
Mayor Anthony Dalli said the council had taken note of the petition but it believed the project to be beneficial to the community and the town.
The new building will also house a government clinic, a computer room, a multi-purpose hall and a public library.
“This project is just a fraction of bigger plans to turn the area into a proper village square in front of the parish church, which is being undertaken by the Church.”
The plans entail revamping the parish church parvis and relocating the shops in front of its entrance, which now occupy Church land, to sites across the road in order to enlarge the square that lies immediately in front of the church.
The new site, a piece of land measuring 343 square metres, was recently passed on to the council by the government. While the council’s new building will occupy a third of the present square, the square is set to grow again with the relocation of the shops.
The mayor said the council’s choice had been between buying a property that already existed or building one from scratch and designing it to their requirements. Financially, the second option made more sense, so a full development application was submitted following an outline development permit issued to the council in 1999.
The mayor said that, contrary to public perception, the project would not include a multi-storey car park. It would consist of a two-storey building with another floor at semi-basement level.
The council is proposing to house the clinic, library, computer room and an exhibition space in the semi-basement, a reception area and council offices on the first floor and a large community hall on the second floor.
Mr Dalli said the whole edifice would be self-sufficient in terms of energy needs through photovoltaic panels on the roof and the electricity generated would also be used to light up the adjacent playground.
He said the project would cost the council €400,000, funds it hoped to borrow from a bank.
The present council office, located in a small first floor flat, is not accessible to the disabled because there is no lift, making it illegal under the newly amended law governing local councils.
The council had looked into buying an existing property and shortlisted the search to three properties: one costing €391,000, another €396,000 and the third, a flat, costing €198,000. Moreover, the present council offices were being rented at €750 a month while the new premises would be covered by an emphyteusis of €950 a year.
Mr Dalli said only 50 people had attended three consultation meetings the council had held for residents in May to explain a project that had been in the making for nearly 10 years.
While acknowledging the residents’ right to oppose the project, the mayor said the council was ready to meet them, show them the plans and answer questions.
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G. Dingli
Sep 4th 2010, 17:27
Tajjeb li jkollna progetti godda. U ahna r-residenti ta' hdejn il-JB? Meta se naraw dik il-bicca ghalqa zdingata u mimlija grieden tinbidel f' post rekreattiv ghal uliedna? Lanqas ghandhom fejn jilaghbu ftit futbol. Ilna fuq il-25 sena nistennew li jsir xi haga fuq din ix-xaqliba ta' l-Iklin. Sadanittant, bqajna bit-trabijiet u t-tajn.
D Degabriele
Sep 3rd 2010, 18:29
Mr Dalli better do what you had promised us years ago the residents of Dun Karm from the shoes shop and the Villa which was build on the service road . we of Dun Karm are forgotten nothing was done for us due to have a commercial area and we can do nothing against this type of people.
Tony Gatt
Sep 2nd 2010, 22:37
Lil dawk il-316 li qed jopponu taf x'nghidlhom? Tidhru li drajtu tghixu fl-iktar parti kwieta ta' l-Iklin u mhux fil-periferija fejn ghandek numru ta istabilimenti u xi ohrajn li ghadhom se jinfethu fejn ir-residenti ikollhom ta kulljum jiffacjaw il-problemi kollha ta' traffic,parking,storbju u skart.
duncan Tanti
Sep 2nd 2010, 16:57
s zammit i agree with you 100% regarding night surveillance.in our area all the cars were scratched not once but twice and more.by the way do we have a family oriented local council???
R.Borg
Sep 2nd 2010, 15:51
316 residents are opposing the new Iklin Project.
But why?
Are they the same individuals who opposed the Parish Church, the Parish Centre, the Parish Priest Residence and Office?
Can the community know who they are? Hidden agendas?
Thank you Mayor for your initiative and be brave to go against the current.
David J Cassar
Sep 2nd 2010, 14:43
Well done for the council to venture with this project, for the common good of the Iklin residents. For sure there will always be those who complain while others support the actions of the council. But then, numbers speak for themselves. In a democracy one has to consider the common good. Personal, individual, reasons take second base, unless the law is not being adhered to, which is not the case.
J Abela
Sep 2nd 2010, 13:09
Public relations - zero
C. Farrugia
Sep 2nd 2010, 13:04
What a waste of public money. All Local Councils should be disbanded and replaced by a senior government Civil Servant who can easily do the job of all the council. In a small country like this we have enough national politiicians. More politicians at the local level have only increased polarization, corruption and waste of money.
Peter Cassar
Sep 2nd 2010, 12:50
Get rid of all Local Councils and get rid of all this corruption and squandering of our taxes. Scrap all Local Councils.
Paul Feech
Sep 2nd 2010, 12:14
Imma kif ma infiequ qatt dan il povru pajjiz. F kollox tridu idahhlu il politika. Anki jekk tmur taqdi il bzonnijiet taggha Cetta is sabiha iridu jaghtuwa laqta politika. Meta se nikbru ftit u ma nibqghux pajjiz tal mickey mouse.
Catherine fenech
Sep 2nd 2010, 11:44
Arroganza ta kunsil li u mexxi min persuna wahda. Is-sindku mux jghid li l-uniku pjazza li em fl-Iklin se jaghlaqha bix jibniha u t-triq se jgibha li bilkemm tghaddi karozza? Ma qalx xi traffic gem se jaqa kull filghodu specjalment fi Triq g e mercer? jew din it-triq ma tinteressahx ax ma tantx ghandu voti minnha? Meta uriena l-pjanti acertana li l-hwinet ha jibqghu fejn huma u l-bini tal-kunsill bis se jsir. issa bidel il-verzjoni u ha jmur ghal pjanti l-antiki li jizgombra l-hwienet ukoll. dawn il-pjanti l-antiki gew mwarba ax ir-residenti kinu kontra dan it-tibdil...ara kif tista tafdah!! Il-Knisja mhi qed taghmel l-ebda progett mhux vera. il-knisja lesta u l-kappilan mhux behsiebu jkabbarha. kull ma qed isir hu il-bini tad-dar tal-kappillan.
Imbaghad em bica art fejn il-JB u ilha bix isir pitch at tfal aktar minn 25 sena arukaza...
A. Saliba
Sep 2nd 2010, 11:39
Is-Sur Dalli ghal xi haga hekk jhabbrek!
Dalli qalilna kemm qed jonfoq ghal kera, u kemm ser jonfoq ghal cens. Pero ma qalx kemm ha jonfoq biex jibni u jghamel il-"finishes" kollha neccesarji.
Kieku inti sur Dalli kellek id-dar tieghek faccata tal-bandli, kont tibni l-ufficju tal-kunsill hemmhekk? Pero kun honest mieghek innifsek. Jew kont tara kif issebbah dawk il-bandli mitluqin li hemm!
Nahseb li l-poplu ta l-Iklin jaf x'ghandu jghamel issa fl-elezjoni li jmiss sur sindku!!
Kris Scicluna
Sep 2nd 2010, 11:34
In my opinion, the solution is not out of reach. The concerns, however, should not be raised through petitions or voting threats. This is not the way forward, and I'm sure that such threats will fall on deaf ears. Let us not be self-destructive. If the LC organised consultation meetings, I assume that it was during these meetings that the main concerns and arguments were raised. If not, then one can make use of the LC's availability to meet and discuss.
We shouldn't try climbing out of the window when the front door is open. I'm sure the Local Council appreciates constructive feedback, such as Mr. Tanti's request, which makes perfect sense.
Alfred Busuttil
Sep 2nd 2010, 12:46
Kris Scicluna if you think vote protests will fall on deaf ears then it shows how people are only considered as an object to be used at voting time. Moreover, if this is so, then let the people show their disapproval at election to send their message home that they do not want such arrogant semi-politicians who think that they are the chosen ones to do what they want and disregard the people.
Kris Scicluna
Sep 2nd 2010, 13:17
Mr Busuttil,
I think I failed to explain myself clearly. What I meant is that protesting against a project by threatening not to vote for the candidate should'nt be the way such a problem is tackled. If the Local Council were to give in to such threats, I can assure you that absolutely nothing will be done throughout a legislature, as no project will ever have the approval of all the residents. And if this would be the case, then the voters would never reap any benefits from their LC. Democracies allow voters to express their opinions in an election, and a vote is always the best way of doing so. Using it as a threat, however, is counter productive, as I explained above. I hope I made my earlier statement clearer this time.
Alfred Busuttil
Sep 2nd 2010, 15:42
Kris Scicluna reap benefits from Local Councils? The only thing that people are reaping from Local Councils are commissions and corruption, squandering of our tax money, arrogance beyond belief, counselors who think that they are God sent and Gods themselves and other issues which I am sure are too numerous to mention and which anyone can tell you.
Kris Scicluna
Sep 2nd 2010, 18:20
Mr Busuttil, I'd be very careful before making such a statement. I'm not the one whose going to tell anyone what to do, but making a general statement like that may cause much more harm than you may think. Remember, more often than not, only negative news make the headlines. You can never generalize in such a manner just because one LC happened to be corrupt (if it really is, as I don't really know to which LC's you are referring to). As lengthy as your list may be, I'm sure that an even longer list with benefits that LC's brought along can be compiled. Let's not have such a negative attitude in respect of a group of people who get nothing in return for their work (if their work is conducted properly).
You have every right to have an opinion on anything, but saying that all we got from local councils is 'commissions and corruption, squandering of our tax money, arrogance beyond belief, counselors who think that they are God sent' does nothing to help the situation. Be constructive, and above all, optimistic. You or your children might need to use the clinic/library/computer lab one day.
S.De Battista
Sep 2nd 2010, 11:33
Jekk jitwaqqa n-naqra ta' gnien u bandli li hemm l-Iklin, warajh jaqa l-kunsill kollu fl-elezzjoni li jmiss! L-unika area fejn tista tmur u toqod ghal-kwiet tara t-tfal jilghabu u taqra ktieb ha tinqered.
L-izvilupp go l-Iklin sar xihaga gravi.. Minn ghelieqi gibnieh mimli gaggeg b'Arkitettura falluta li ma tiswa xejn u tinbiegh bil-belli liri! It-toroq residenzjali saru toroq arterjali fejn sa hinijiet twal ta' filghodu karrozzi u trakkijiet ghaddejjin minn toroq residenzjali b'sewqan goff u dan hadd ma jikkontrollah.
IL-kunsill Lokali ahjar izid is-safety features fit-toroq, qabel ma jaqbad u jberbaq progett bhal dan!
Marco Zerafa
Sep 2nd 2010, 12:48
S.De Battista kulhadd ghandu jwassal il-messagg tieghu miktub fuq il-vot ghax hekk biss jisimghu dawk li qed jiffangaw u ghandhom halqhom fix-xghir.
Joseph Cauchi
Sep 2nd 2010, 11:16
As it stands, Malta’s total geographical area practically measures up to one local council in Sicily and just imagine having the multiplication of council offices, conference halls, day centres, etc… by sixty eight, in this particular Comune in Sicily!
Does it make sense?
Aren’t we looking at this scenario with the metaphorically speaking “Eyes of the Elephant”?
Why do we Maltese, have to be the exception and different to our brothers in the EU?
Where are the economies of scale; and isn’t this just sheer waste of resources?
Only in Malta, perhaps?
JC.
patrick zammit
Sep 2nd 2010, 12:20
J Cauchi - so true!
Although the Maltese are well travelled, adaptable and savvy when new technologies crop up, we are still essentially closed minded and inward looking.
duncan Tanti
Sep 2nd 2010, 10:49
Mr Farrugia regarding the nimby syndrome i agree with you as most of the residents in iklin didnt knew about the petition.what i hope is that if its true that the so called playing fieldis going to be kept,an improvment will be done in it especially during the night time as at the moment it is in total darkness and you cant go there with the kids.
S. Zammit
Sep 2nd 2010, 11:18
@ duncan tanti: At the risk of swaying off the main point, I believe that 99% of the playing fields, and not only that of Iklin, require night surveillance because after dark it gets a bit dangerous-looking.
Sergio Vassallo
Sep 2nd 2010, 10:34
This is all money down the drain for the local council's and counselors ego.
J Farrugia
Sep 2nd 2010, 10:32
These people should stop putting spokes in the wheels of their own administration (LC). The council is working in their own interests and thus such a project is a necessity not a luxury. The only complaint I heard from these front line residents is that such a project will constitute a construction site with all its pros and cons. Yes there will be some inconvenience, but what if some one of these opposers sell their house and the new owners would like to rebuild this same property, will it not constitute a new construction site?? But these owners are just that NIMBYs. As long as it is not their property, we dont care.
Joe Demanuele
Sep 2nd 2010, 10:32
Shows the arrogance of the local counselors who think that they are some demi-gods. SCRAP ALL LOCAL COUNCILS. IF THIS IS NOT DONE THEY SHALL ALL GET OUR ANSWERS ON OUR BALLOT PAPER.
g. scerri
Sep 2nd 2010, 10:32
Bully for the council! Perhaps once the job is done they could swop over with the Attard council. The locality needs someone to save its health and sanity from the devastation caused by the unceasing traffic flow through most of its streets.
Raymond Camilleri
Sep 2nd 2010, 10:55
Tell your favorite politician G Scerri: Lawrence Gonzi for approving the demolition of houses which are turned into multistorey apartments resulting in a huge increase in traffic .... you voted him in now you are reaping what you sowed.... have fun!