The Planning Authority will this week decide on the proposed db Group’s mega development at the former ITS site in St Julian’s. Few will recall that the ITS saga started off in November 2015 with the publication of a Request for Tender Proposals (RFP) by Projects Malta Ltd, a government-owned company. One single bid presented by the db Group led to daylight robbery with public land being taken over for a pittance of €15 million and coupled with a proposal to build a 38-storey tower and an adjacent hotel having 18 storeys.

I am today able to reveal an additional twist to this story. In June 2013, a whole 29 months prior to the issue of the RFP, the db Group had already finalised high-level financial projections and plans for the development of a new five-star hotel in St Julian’s.

The top brass of the group had bragged that the proposed Hard Rock Hotel would be built on the government-owned ITS site, later described by the group’s CEO as “a prime stretch of land enveloped in Malta’s mecca of 5-star properties and our own ‘Golden Mile’.” All this makes it even less surprising as to why the db Group was the only bidder interested in taking over such a highly sought after, and thus highly valued, land.

True to its commitment to ensure good governance, the Nationalist Opposition immediately asked the Auditor General to investigate the transfer of the land.

To the dismay of many law-abiding citizens and investors, the investigation is still ongoing, with no indication whatsoever as to when it will be concluded.

The government has been busy bending over backwards to accommodate the db Group. Policies, plans and procedures have been “fine-tuned” and interpreted so as to satisfy the group’s demands and bring the project to fruition in record time; government has deliberately refrained from preparing a master plan for this highly sensitive area. Unsurprisingly, the Planning Authority’s case officer has recommended that the project be approved; and unwisely and with utter disrespect towards the people of Pembroke the Planning Authority did not wait for the outcome of the NAO’s investigation before putting it on its agenda for a decision.

But why should we care?

The tall tower will cast long shadows on Pembroke’s residential area during most of the winter period and for a considerable part of the day during the rest of the year

We should because it will affect the people of Pembroke. What’s in it for them? Will the project improve their quality of life or will it drive them out of their locality?

As things stand today the people of Pembroke are already suffering from traffic congestion.

The problem is exacerbated in the mornings by the substantial number of schools located in Pembroke. In the evenings things get worse with the influx of partygoers swarming to Paceville and turning Pembroke’s residential area into a parking lot. Rather than finding solutions to the congestion issue, the government seems intent on increasing it.

A traffic impact assessment has shown that the project will generate 7,000 car trips daily. The assessment is based on the presumption that a tunnel linking the ITS site to the Coast Road will be built.

It has been rightly dubbed the “phantom tunnel” as we still have no clue as to who will build it, when it will be built and who will foot the bill – let alone whether the proposal will be an appropriate solution to the negative impacts of this project.

The second major point of objection relates to the shadows caused by the proposed development.

Studies presented to the Planning Authority show that the tall tower will cast long shadows on Pembroke’s residential area during most of the winter period and for a considerable part of the day during the rest of the year. This very important point of concern has been ignored by the government, the db Group and the case officer.

The proposed development will cause a plethora of other inconveniences particularly throughout the inevitably lengthy construction phase. Not only have the developers ignored the residents’ concerns on this matter, but they have also had the temerity to insist on installing a concrete batching plant just metres away from residents’ apartment blocks.

As rightly explained by urban planner John Ebejer in a recent Talking Point, the proposed development falls foul of a list of planning policies and the whole process makes a mockery of the planning system.

Both the government and the db Group have run roughshod over the people of Pembroke. They have ignored the residents’ plight for a scaled-down project which respects and safeguards the needs and aspirations of their community as a whole.

These are the main reasons why I decided to join more than 4,000 other people who filed formal objections to the project.

I remain steadfast in my conviction that the project runs counter to the interests of the people of Pembroke which as an elected representative I am duty bound to protect.

It is now up to the PA to uphold its mission statement and ensure that Pembroke remains a pleasant place to live in.

Karol Aquilina is a Nationalist MP elected on the 10th district, which includes Pembroke.

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