Labour deputy leader Toni Abela is standing by comments he made in a newspaper article lambasting the decision to allow development close to the Unesco-protected Ta’ Ħaġrat temples in Mġarr.
Earlier this month, the planning authority confirmed a permit for a villa to be built metres away from the site, saying it was not in breach of existing planning policies.
Meanwhile, heritage NGO Flimkien Ghal Ambjent Ahjar has already gathered some 750 signatures in support of an online petition calling on the government to halt this development.
In his weekly opinion piece published in l-orizzont on April 8, Dr Abela branded the decision taken a few days before as “a murder” of part of Malta’s cultural and historical heritage.
He also expressed fears that this development might jeopardise the temples’ Unesco status.
Labour’s deputy leader for party affairs said that at times the authorities lacked common sense and were not sensitive to “sacred” aspects of the island.
Dr Abela also floated the idea of expropriating the land in question and compensating the developers, to be able to preserve the buffer zone around the temples in its natural state.
“Future generations should not pay the price for mistakes made by today’s administrators,” he wrote.
Such a move would not be unprecedented as in 2009 the government had paid a sum believed to be in the region of €140,000 to expropriate two plots of land fewer than 10 metres away from the megalithic remains. The move was made to make amends for the planning authority’s decision to allow the construction of two-storey buildings on these plots.
Contacted by The Sunday Times of Malta, Dr Abela yesterday pointed out that the decision had not been taken by the government but by an autonomous body, which in this case was the Malta Environment and Planning Authority.
“Though I am deputy leader, it is not always the case that a party has to converge on every issue,” he said, adding that it was not the first time that he had been critical on certain aspects.
“I always believed that in politics it is better to be frank especially when it comes to issues about our heritage,” he argued.
Though I am deputy leader, it is not always the case that a party has to converge on every issue
He clarified that his point was to raise questions on certain planning polices which had been introduced by Nationalist governments.
The Labour deputy leader backed his argument saying that in the same opinion piece he had also criticised Mepa’s decision to allow the Freeport to carry out maintenance on oil rigs.
He added that even in the case of Mġarr, there had been a precedent, saying that some years back the authorities had given the green light to a development which was also close to the temples.
“My argument is that heritage sites which are part of our national identity should not be compromised by planning policies that allow developments in close proximity to them.”