Attard residents yesterday called on the government to revise Parliament’s 2006 decision to extend development zones, saying the decision was now “a noose around people’s necks”.
They made the call during a hearing at the planning authority over a proposed development on an Attard site that had been included within the development zone by the 2006 Rationalisation of Development Boundaries.
A resident of Attard, Anne Schembri, said: “The rationalisation exercise was never properly explained to the public. We used to hear a lot about it but we didn’t know what it meant. This is now a noose around our necks.”
She said residents were prepared to write to Prime Minister Joseph Muscat to consider their demand, saying that when he was still in opposition he had spoken out against excessive development.
The application for development on 16,160 square metres of land was yesterday unanimously refused by the Mepa board during a packed hearing.
I’m going to throw everyone out... you will speak when I tell you to
The developers had applied to build a set of terraced houses and villas, as well as a new road outside the development zone boundary.
The reason for the refusal was that the proposal by the developers, which include Malta Developers Association president Sandro Chetcuti, included an area that extended beyond that established in the rationalisation exercise.
The board argued that a decision taken by Cabinet on where the development boundaries were drawn was not subject to discussion.
Before the decision was taken, Nationalist Party whip David Agius, who was present at the Mepa hearing, intervened and called the development boundaries outlined in the proposal “an obscenity”.
A Mepa board member pointed out that he was a member of Cabinet when the rationalisation exercise occurred and that he had voted in favour.
Mr Agius replied that Cabinet members had to vote “on the package presented” rather than individual sites proposed.
The proposal faced strong opposition from residents, with Mepa receiving 92 objections and a petition signed by 214 people. The community had organised a protest on site a day before the hearing that was attended by members of all three political parties.
Mepa chairman Vince Cassar repeatedly intervened to silence the rumblings from residents objecting to statements made by architect Colin Zammit during the hearing.
“I’m going to throw everyone out... you will speak when I tell you to,” Mr Cassar said.
This was met by complaints from residents, who said they had been waiting there for a long time and demanded the right to voice their concerns.
The site is located on the western periphery of the built-up area of Attard and is within the Ta’ Qali Action Plan, which defines the site as a strategic open space between developments.
The land is also close to an area of ecological importance that is protected, and parts of the site are still used for agricultural purposes.
The Planning Directorate said it had given time for the architect to submit fresh plans that respect the development boundaries established in the 2006 rationalisation exercise but none were supplied accordingly.
The plans debated at the Mepa hearing yesterday represented only a slight reduction of the area that fell outside the development zone.
The Attard local council, represented by deputy Mayor Marco Spiteri, was also present at the hearing and registered its objection to the development.
Alternattiva Demokratika deputy chairman Carmel Cacopardo also attended and objected.