Protesters make their point in Sliema last night. Photo: Mark Zammit Cordina

An environmentalist yesterday said the Prime Minister had told her he “did not care” about social impact assessments conducted on large construction projects.

“I met [Prime Minister] Joseph Muscat and when I asked him about social impact assessments on big projects, he said ‘I don’t care’. He said the public would get used to anything,” environmentalist Astrid Vella said yesterday, later clarifying that Dr Muscat was speaking during a meeting several months ago about the private university being built in Żonqor.

“I have witnesses,” she said.

Ms Vella was yesterday speaking during a public protest held in Qui-Si-Sana against a number of high-rise projects earmarked for the area. The protest attracted dozens of residents, who held placards and all insisted the island did not need tall buildings.

Ms Vella said she had no reason to believe Dr Muscat would give any consideration to the social impact the proposed tower buildings would have on the Sliema community either, as it was unlikely his alleged belief the public could get used to anything had changed.

Questions sent to the Office of the Prime Minister late yesterday had not been replied to by the time of writing.

During the protest, lawyer Claire Bonello explained that although the Planning Authority was meant to decide the fate of the 34-storey Townsquare project today, it had been temporarily halted thanks to a court injunction filed yesterday.

This is the first, but definitely not the last protest to be held against the building of towers

Provisionally upheld by the courts, the injunction was filed by a number of NGOs together with some 25 Sliema residents, who are insisting that the project cannot go ahead without a number of studies. These not only include a traffic plan, but also updating a number of “outdated” studies which were drafted when the proposed development was going to be significantly smaller, Dr Bonello said.

Earlier, this week, the Planning Authority denied that it had concealed any documents related to the project and that all the necessary studies had been conducted.

Speaking as a “Sliema local”, Sliema local councillor Michael Briguglio said it seemed as though developers were competing to see “who had the biggest skyscraper”.

The Planning Authority, he said, should be impartial and run by experts, however it had become clear this was not the case.

“I am confident that this is the first, but definitely not the last protest to be held against the building of towers,” he said, prompting applause from the crowd gathered.

Independent MP Marlene Farrugia also addressed the crowd in Qui-Si-Sana and urged citizens to continue being the “voice of reason”.