Updated with Din l-Art Helwa's statement
The sudden news that a referendum will be held in Sannat this Saturday about planned development at ta' Ċenċ raises suspicion about its legitimacy, Front Ħarsien ODZ said.
"In the democratic world, referendum dates are announced months in advance so as to enable proper debate. The Gozitan and Maltese public got to know about the Sannat referendum about development in Ta' Ċenċ only five days in advance through the press," the Front said.
"Moreover, the issue to be discussed is being misrepresented. No mention is made of the 15 villas that make up part of the project which Sannat residents are being consulted on."
Front Ħarsien ODZ urged the Labour-led council in Sannat to oppose the ODZ development.
The referendum was also criticised in another statement today by Din l-Art Ħelwa which said its wording was "not acceptable as it does not reflect the full scale of the project, leaving out the 15 ODZ villas".
It questioned why the Sannat council did not publicise the referendum more widely saying this made the referendum seem questionable, and did the initiative a disservice.
"Any referendum should be preceded by a wide and healthy debate, involving all sides of the question, to ensure that voters are fully informed about the facts, background and implications of the vote. A full information campaign should have been organised, and from at least several weeks in advance," it said.
Din l-Art Helwa said the Electoral Commission should not involve itself in any voting process without ensuring that voters received timely and adequate information about the vote, and were given the opportunity to hear all sides. "The referendum should be postponed until this has been ensured."
Din l-Art Helwa said the parameters for the entire application had changed entirely since the application was first submitted 20 years ago.
"The proposal is based on the Structure Plan, which is no longer in force and which has been replaced by the Strategic Plan for the Environment and Development.
"Development applications are to be decided by the board on laws and policies currently in force at the time when it takes its decision on the application. The SPED clearly states that the location of new residences should be within urban areas, and does not envisage any such development at Ta Cenc.
"Moreover, it was clarified by the government in a letter to the Mepa board in 2006, that the local plan for the area limits the development in the lower part of the plateau to the existing development, and does not allow further development in this area."
Din l-Art Ħelwa renewed its appeal to the authorities to refuse the proposal which it said should be thrown out by the Planning Authority.
Times of Malta reported earlier today how residents had raised concerns that the referendum question did not make it clear that they would be voting in favour or against the building of the 15 villas in an area overlooking Mġarr ix-Xini.
Instead of including the villas, the question is based on the exact description used by the Planning Authority, which describes the development as “Malta’s first heritage park and multi-ownership tourist hotel development.
Contacted by this newspaper about the residents’ concerns, local council executive secretary Jason Curmi said the council had decided to formulate the question in a way that reflected the description by the authority. “We do not mention the villas because these are not actually mentioned in the application and we cannot just include them and go against what the authority says,” Mr Curmi said.
The council has received some requests to clarify the question, but once people understood what it was referring to, they said they were in a much better position to take the decision, he said.
The Planning Authority describes the development as Malta’s first heritage park and multi-ownership tourist hotel development
Asked if this could potentially mislead the voters, Mr Curmi said the council had made it clear in a letter sent to every household that it would be ready to offer assistance and information on the referendum.
The development, by hotelier Victor Borg, would extend the existing low-lying hotel into a fully fledged complex including a number of additional villas that were recommended for refusal by the planning authority in 2007. Attempts to contact Mr Borg for a reaction were futile.
The development saga has been ongoing since 1996, and in March, what was then Mepa once again rejected, on appeal, the developer’s proposal.
Environmental organisations have for years objected to the development.
Voting will take place between 7am and 7pm at the council offices. Residents registered in the electoral registry as of April are eligible to vote.
According to Mr Curmi, there are some 1,900 eligible voters, and while the council had no information on what the outcome of the referendum could be, initial feedback showed that the initiative was welcomed by the residents.