Updated at 9.10pm with residents' statement

'RIP' notices have been plastered on two mature trees in Balzan, which are due to be sacrificed for the realignment of Triq il-Wied.

According to the council, the trees’ roots were damaging road infrastructure and efforts would be made to have them replanted elsewhere in the locality.

Balzan’s Triq il-Wied is set to get a long-awaited rebuilding in the next few months.

Works are planned be completed by the end of summer, and will involve the complete reconstruction of the road and some 1.2 kilometres of pavement

The road upgrade would support the forthcoming Central Link Project, a €55 million plan to upgrade the arterial thoroughfare between Saqqajja Hill in Rabat and the Mrieħel bypass.

Protests are mounting at the increasing number of trees that are being sacrificed to make way for wider roads and buildings. 

Watch: 'Some trees survived the war, but not this Environment Minister'

Balzan residents' statement

In a statement later in the evening, a group of residents said they were appalled to learn that the council was forced to make a decision for the area without access to plans from Transport Malta.

They said construction should not go ahead without a proper consultation process, and the council should not have agreed to this development without – at the very least – knowing exactly what the plans outlined.

Speaking on behalf of the residents, a spokesman said: “Aside from the fact that two iconic old trees are going to be removed in this process, there are worries that this road is going to become a major thoroughfare between Attard and Birkirkara. This is not what we have in mind for the future of Balzan, which is threatening its status as one of the historic Three Villages.”

Another member of the residents’ group said: “I cannot believe that the council has taken this decision without consulting us. Balzan has so few public green lungs left, and these trees provide vital greenery in the area.

"Their loss should not have been taken lightly, and a plan should have been put in place to ensure their incorporation into the development, not their exclusion from it. I would like to see a solution that, of course, improves the terrible state of this road, but also maintains the little greenery we have left.”

While consulting with the group, Professor Maria Attard, director of the University’s Institute for Climate Change and Sustainable Development said: “If this road is to become a principal road, this will increase traffic, speed, risks, noise and pollution. The few green spots (the trees) along that street should be used to reduce the impact, not removed.”

The residents’ group has officially contacted the council to request a public meeting on the topic, but has yet to receive a reply. The residents have also contacted Infrastructure Minister Ian Borg requesting the plans to be made public.

They said that although an exhaustive reply about the importance of the works was received, the plans remained under wraps.