Locating part of the planned American University of Malta in Cospicua’s Dock 1 will help regenerate the area but could intensify traffic problems, according to Cottonera residents.
They feel the project will help regenerate the area and boost civic pride but could also result in more traffic, fewer parking spaces and a surge in air pollution.
Statistics show that the southern harbour district has the highest proportion of people with no educational qualifications and residents expressed concern that the private university could well further underline tertiary education as being something beyond their reach.
Fr John Avellino, a Cottonera resident, is among those who believe the university project will help regenerate the area. A degree of investment was made in the region, especially into Vittoriosa, over the past years and this helped the region catch up with the rest of the island, he noted.
“The problem I foresee is that we don’t have people professionally prepared to exploit the situation,” Fr Avellino told the Times of Malta.
The number of students making it to university was inadequate, he continued, and for the locals to benefit, even from being employed as, say, secretarial staff, they needed to have a tertiary level of education.
“When there was investment in Cottonera, some locals complained that jobs weren’t given to them. I told them that they needed to be prepared. Perhaps the new university could serve as an incentive for more young people to invest in tertiary education,” Fr Avellino said.
According to Caroline Said Lawrence, coordinator of the Friends of Cottonera Forum, it was positive that the project would allow Dock 1 to move away from its legacy as an industrial zone and, instead, will “pay tribute” to the Three Cities and the Grand Harbour area's history as a centre of learning.
Given that Cospicua is the services hub of the Three Cities, the negative impact of increased traffic and fewer parking spaces has been sorely felt
The project would be giving the area an economic boost by bringing quality traffic to the area, both in the educational and tourism aspects. It would also create a domino effect by drawing attention to the need to attend to the remaining historical sites that have been overlooked, such as the magnificent gates of the Cottonera Lines, Ms Said Lawrence said.
The building of the campus might also encourage the development of the hidden, neglected gardens that surrounded the bastions and turn them into attractive leisure areas, with features such as open gyms.
Given that the Dock 1 warehouses were an invaluable asset in Malta's cultural heritage, concerns were raised about the sensitivity of their restoration, she added.
“Impact assessments are very necessary with regard to pollution, specifically traffic pollution. Parking has been a problem since the development of Dock 1, which, subsequently, generated more traffic.
“Given that Cospicua is the services hub of the Three Cities, the negative impact of increased traffic and fewer parking spaces has been sorely felt. Alternative traffic management schemes need to be implemented such as making Ix-Xatt ta’ Bormla a one-way system, which is very possible given that Cospicua already has a ring road around its perimeter,” Ms Said Lawrence said.
While the hilly terrain of the Three Cities had a lot to do with the area’s unique charm, it had also saddled its residents with a unique problem: access to residences.
With the potential increase in parking problems, the matter had to be addressed through alternative transportation services such as electric cabs (like in Valletta), a circular shuttle bus or a more comprehensive ferry service introduced to include a stop at Senglea.
According to the social impact assessment, drafted by Joe Gerada and Marvin Formosa, the project will lead to improved commercial opportunities for existing business operators and the possibility of new business ventures targeting the needs of students.
The fact that the large-scale international investment did not entail the building of factories related to the manufacturing industry was a positive issue raised during interviews with residents and stakeholders.
Many understood that a foreign university’s campus in Cottonera was far from a cosmetic attempt to improve the image of the locality but would result in widespread and concrete social, economic and cultural positive outcomes: an influx of relatively affluent foreigners, an inflow of different cultures that would enrich the multicultural character of the locality, plus leading to the presence of academic and researchers.
One of the interviewees, a senior social worker at the Cottonera Community Service – LEAP Centre, warned that the increase in the demand for rented accommodation could negatively affect at-risk-of-poverty residents because they could find it harder to source accommodation at affordable prices.
Another concern related to the historical value of the area and the necessity that any development had to be sensitive to the environment and history of the region.
Commendable decision to restore historic buildings
The restoration of historic buildings like the old naval stores at Dock No. 1 in Cospicua for educational purposes was a commendable way to ensure their long-term use, Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna said yesterday.
The project would also contribute towards the regeneration of the inner harbour area but, at Żonqor Point, great care should be taken to develop only that part of land which has already been disturbed.
FWA also called for the preservation of all farming and pastoral activity in the area.
Retailers seek assurances
No commercial establishments should be allowed to open on the site of the proposed campus as it could deal a blow to nearby businesses, the GRTU – the Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises, said.
The GRTU called on the government to set stringent parameters on the utilisation of the land earmarked for the project.
It said it was seeking such assurances in view of the fact that the land around Malta International Airport was not only used for ancillary services but was also developed commercially.
Split campus disappointment
for Marsascala businesses Marsascala businesses have expressed disappointment over the partial relocation of the campus to Cospicua, saying they would miss out on some of the economic benefits the project would have generated.
The Marsascala Business Association said the original concept would have been more beneficial to all the stakeholders, including the investors themselves.
Addressing an economic imbalance
The project would create new opportunities in the south of the island and contribute to raise the standard of living of the local population, the Consultative Council for the South said.
Furthermore, it noted, the investment would address the economic imbalance created by previous administrations.
DLĦ expresses mixed reaction
While welcoming the news that the new American University of Malta will be partly sited at Dock No. 1, Din l-Art Ħelwa said it was still unacceptable to encroach land outside the development zone.
The NGO noted that the relocation of the waterpolo pitch along the foreshore at Marsascala would encroach on the present swimming zone and so had to be accompanied by a study on how to minimise the impact on the area.
Developers against residential use
Developers yesterday pledged they would be vigilant to ensure the project would be solely used for educational purposes and not for residential or commercial aims.
The Malta Developers Association welcomed the government’s decision to scale down the project from the original proposal saying an intelligent compromise on the use of pristine land had been reached.
AD says project still unacceptable
While welcoming the decision to scale down the project and include Dock No. 1, Alternattiva Demokratika said it was still unacceptable that 18,000 square meters of land outside the development zone would be taken up.
“Saying that garigue land is abandoned [land] is very misleading because this is also an area of natural importance which could be restored,” AD said.
‘Visual intrusion’ along the coast
The National Independent Forum for Sustainability welcomed efforts to reduce the negative impacts of the earlier proposals but reiterated its objection to the project saying it still included a footprint on virgin land.
It also expressed disappointment that the visual intrusions the project would create along the coastline between Xgħajra, Żonqor and Fort San Leonardo seemed to have been given very little consideration.
Consultative body ‘unaware’
Cottonera Rehabilitation Committee chairman Charles Flores said he had not known the area had been selected prior to the Prime Minister’s announcement.
He said his committee, a consultative body, had made some proposals for the area but had not been involved in consultations on the location.