Hats off to the Żabbar local council and the Żejtun local council for opposing further attempts to gobble up green space. The Żabbar council is resisting the attempt to colonise yet another ODZ spot by fast food giant Macdonalds, whereas the Żejtun council is trying to stop the obliteration of several tumoli of good quality agricultural land by having them turned into industrial areas.
Both councils were backed by several residents. What is interesting to note is the fact that the residents who turned up for public meetings did not consider the projects to be automatic signifiers of progress or a contemporary lifestyle. They took them for what they are – the thin end of the wedge preceding further commitments, overcrowding, commercialisation of open space and urban sprawl.
It’s been nearly two years since Dean Camilleri went on hunger strike. He embarked on his symbolic protest after being driven to distraction by the noise pollution emanating from a commercial establishment close to his home.
Camilleri lives close to St George’s Bay. In summer, the deafening thump of music into the early hours forces residents to stay awake, whether they like it or not. Winter is marginally better, but when the weather is good, the din at weekends is still atrocious.
Camilleri is not alone in having to put up with intolerable noise pollution. Eurostat surveys ranked noise pollution problems in Malta as the worst within the EU. A law to address the issue and to introduce a regulatory framework is in the pipeline following the input of all stakeholders.
A recognition of the fact that sheer incivility to neighbours must be compensated
In the meantime, however, a recent court judgment should serve to give hope of some form of remedy to victims of noise pollution. In a case which was decided earlier last week, the owners of a Paceville hotel sued the owners and licence holders of neighbouring bars and establishments. They requested the court to award damages for the inconvenience suffered because of amplified music being played into the early hours of the morning.
There had been repeated reports to the police over the years. Sometimes the charges were admitted. On other occasions the bar owners were acquitted. Eventually things got so bad that the persons suffering the brunt of the constant noise pollution filed a civil suit for damages.
The court ruled that the licence holders had breached conditions of their licences regarding the playing of music and that there had also been breaches of the principle of good neighbourliness and awarded the sum of €25,000 by way of damages.
Now that sum may not cover every single sleepless night, or the cost of double-glazing to keep out the wall of sound, or the time lost following up police reports, but at least it represents a recognition of the fact that sheer incivility to neighbours must be compensated.
We now have legislation allowing for the commercialisation of sports facilities by sports associations. The aim of the law is to help sports associations achieve some measure of financial security by allowing them to commercialise the public land ceded to them at beneficial rates. It is a well-intentioned law.
So it is dismaying to read that Maltese youths are the second least likely to participate in activities held by sports clubs. According to a Eurobarometer study, a paltry 11 per cent of Maltese people aged between 15 and 30 said they took part in any such activities during the last 12-month period.
That statistic is galling and we would do well to study the real reason for the lack of interest in sports and communal activities. It may result that we’ve been misdirecting some of our efforts.
Maybe interest in sports is not mainly brought about by professional, glitzy facilities but by easier access to more basic sports facilities and by wrenching children away from their smartphones.
drcbonello@gmail.com