A public garden which has fallen into disrepair was this morning devolved to the Għaxaq council.

The council intends to turn it into a sports centre, including a multi-sport pitch, a picnic area and a playground.

Mayor Emanuel Vassallo said that the council had been trying to acquire the land for the past two years. The council now wanted to develop the garden as soon as possible but everything depended on how quickly funding could be acquired.

Lands Parliamentary Secretary Jason Azzopardi said that the devolution was a declaration of the government’s belief in councils. He said that together with Parliamentary Secretary Chris Said he would do all he could to fast track such devolution, as long as there were no legal impediments.

Nine devolutions were carried out this year and more were forthcoming in the coming days.

Dr Said said that devolution was another means through which local councils could work for the benefit of the community. He said that the pitch was to be funded through an MFA scheme and the rest of the project through a scheme for projects related to sports which was to be launched soon.