Mepa refuses to sanction Dwejra boathouses
Five applications to sanction boathouses or the extension of boathouses in scenic Dwejra in Gozo were turned down by the Mepa board today. The chairman, Austin Walker, said that this sort of development was not in line with the requirements of special...
Five applications to sanction boathouses or the extension of boathouses in scenic Dwejra in Gozo were turned down by the Mepa board today.
The chairman, Austin Walker, said that this sort of development was not in line with the requirements of special conservation areas and not in the public interest.
The board turned down applications to sanction boathouses or alterations to them, including the raising of the height of one of them.
Consideration of a further three applications related to the same site, was postponed.
DECISIONS WELCOMED
in a statement, environment NGO Flimkien ghal Ambjent Ahjar said it welcomed the refusals of some of the requests for sanctioning of abusive building related to boathouses at Dwjera Gozo. It regretted that decisions on three of the cases were postponed.
"The beauty of the Dwejra landscape with its unique geological and ecological features has already been impacted by the eyesore 'visitor centre-cum restaurant’, with its platform and large beams dominating the view down into the once-wonderful geological bowl of Dwejra. The sooner action is taken to remove the Dwejra illegalities, the better it will be both for Dwejra’s ecology and environment and also for the benefit of the Gozitan tourism industry," FAA said.
Two environment organisations yesterday urged Mepa not to approve any requests to sanction the boathouses. Din l-Art Ħelwa and Nature Trust pointed out that Dwejra is a Natura 2000 site and of ecological, geomorphological, fauna and marine importance and deserves full conservation and environmental protection.
The issue of sanctioning these illegal structures is not a recent one. In February 2008, a number of environmental groups had protested loudly against the approval of around 20 applications to sanction illegal structures in Dwejra.
The Malta Environment and Planning Authority had defended its decision, saying it formed part of a process that went back to 2005 called the Dwejra Heritage Park Action Plan to stop, among other things, hunting and dumping in the area.