The Church's Environment Commission has praised a government proposal for the University's old medical school building in Pietà to be used to house the new primary school planned by St Augustine's College.

The college needs to reintroduce a primary school, adding another 350 pupils, in line with the national education reform which emphasises a smooth transition between primary and secondary schooling. The planning authority refused to grant it a permit to build its primary school on a plot adjacent to the existing building.

Last month some 600 teachers, students and parents called on the Office of the Prime Minister to intervene in the issue and an appeal was also filed against the Malta Environment and Planning Authority's decision.

Neighbours of the college are insisting, however, that the college should be treated like any other applicant and if no development is allowed on the site chosen by the college, no permit should be issued.

The commission said that this proposal could save undeveloped land and serve the school's needs.

This was the kind of reasoning needed to ensure sustainable development while safeguarding environmental resouces.

Noting that the project would entail expenses for the developer, it hoped that the best solution would be found and that with good will, this problem would also be solved.

The commission said it was convinced there were other cases where the same carefulness and respect to environmental resources would result in choices which reflected environmental sensibility and responsibility.

It said it believed that where there was a will and full recognition of the impact of choices which could be made to best serve social, cultural and economic needs, one would always get to a fair solution.

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