A request for the descheduling of part of the upper valley side of Balluta Valley was refused by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority this morning.
The request was for the Authority to downgrade the area bordering the valley floor from a level 2 Area of Ecological Importance to a level 3 buffer zone.
Last November, the valley, which cuts through Sliema and St Julian's had been scheduled as an Area of Ecological Importance.
This natural site, which encompasses an area of over 46,000m², had been designated with different levels of protection and includes a buffer zone to protect the overall integrity of the valley.
A group of companies which owns a site in the valley, with one third overlapping the scheduled area, requested a downgrading from grade two to grade three, claiming that the valley was already degraded and that no scientific studies had been presented to substantiate the scheduling.
Mepa official Richard Lia, who was responsible for the scheduling, rebutted the claims and gave a presentation on the method of grading and the state of the valley.
The request for the downgrading was also contested by the Balluta Residents' Association, the St Julian's Residents' Association and Flimkien Ghal Ambjent Ahjar, whose representatives stressed the ecological features of the valley. They said that downgrading the site could be the thin end of the wedge leading to development. They also stressed that the valley is a 'green lung' for the area.
In summing up, Mepa CEO Ian Stafrace said the developers had not submitted scientific proof to justify the downgrading. He refuted claims that the designations of a site as having ecological importance and asa public area conflicted with each other.
He also argued that while the corporate owners of this land claimed that they valued its ecological importance of the area and had no intention of building it up, they had submitted in their objection that the purpose of buying the site had been for speculative ends.
The valley holds some distinctive features in that it is "shorter, steeper, and wider" than most other valleys in Malta, Mepa said.
During this morning's meeting, the Mepa board also approved an outline development permit for the development of a trailer-park in Valletta Road, Luqa including offices, storage areas, open yard maintenance area and landscaping.
The board also approved amendments of the approved drawings for the construction of the Fimbank World Quarters at Pender Place St Julian's and the sanctioning of minor alterations within the same area.