Proposing Wied Garnaw for consideration as public land was the perfect opportunity for society to exercise its right to call for the protection of ODZ land under the new Public Domain law, according to shadow minister Jason Azzopardi.
Dr Azzopardi’s call comes after a report recently submitted to the Planning Authority stated that there was no viable location for a retirement home within the development zone.
Instead, it stated the old people’s home would best be built in the protected valley between Santa Lucija and Luqa.
The reports did not go down well with residents in the area and environmental organisations, who last week called on the government to keep its promise and safeguard the area.
“Wied Garnaw is a textbook case of how the new Public Domain law could be implemented. It really only takes one person to put forward such a proposal,” Dr Azzopardi, who drafted the law that was unanimously approved in Parliament last month, said.
Wied Garnaw is a textbook case of how the new Public Domain law could be implemented.It really only takes one person to put forward sucha proposal
The law empowers citizens and NGOs to recommend land and property to be listed as ‘public domain’, which cannot used for commercial reasons.
It also guarantees public access to such lands.
A site would be declared as in the public domain through a parliamentary decision. The proposed development is spread over 4,472 square metres and includes a chapel, a cinema, administration rooms, a hall, a main kitchen and dining areas.
A coffee shop, a hairdresser, a beauty salon and a mortuary will also be developed, along with a linen store, a cleaners’ room, a garbage room and a switch room.
The home is a private investment, but seeks to offer beds to the public through a public-private partnership.
The report, drafted by Adi Associates, an environmental and planning consultancy firm, gave no reasons why no viable sites were located within the development zone but insisted that the protected valley was the best option for the 301-room retirement home.
Dr Azzopardi said: “The [Public Domain] law is there and the NGOs have spoken out against this development. Now they should officially make their proposals and make the most of this opportunity,” he said.
A number of environmental NGOs have spoken out against the five-storey retirement home, yet Dr Azzopardi insisted they should take things further by making the recommendation. Front Ħarsien ODZ, which last week called on the Planning Authority to stop processing the application for the home, said it agreed with Dr Azzopardi’s suggestion and was looking into how this could be done.
“Front Ħarsien ODZ agrees with including the area under public domain but given the site, one would have to declare a greater area than the valley to include the land in public domain,” a spokesman told this newspaper.
Asked whether the NGO would be filing such a proposal to the Planning Authority, the spokesman said that this option was being studied.