Residents are objecting to plans to build hundreds of apartments on a massive tract of agricultural land in the limits of Mosta.

The nearly 40,000 square metre site – more than the size of five football pitches – in the area known as Tad-Dib, near Torri Cumbo, was included in the  development zone in the 2006 rationalisation exercise, having previously been an outside  development zone.

A zoning application has now been submitted that would allow three-storey high buildings to be built across most of the site. If approved by the Planning Authority, a full application would still have to be submitted before any development could take place.

A similar zone application on the same site was rejected two years ago by the planning watchdog, which said the plans did not constitute an example of good urban design due to the street layout, density and lack of green public open space.

Residents who are objecting to the new application argue that such an intensive development will eat up some of the last active agricultural fields in the area as well as an important green area for the community.

“The insatiable greed on the part of developers and a serious lack of foresight and planning on the part of the public authorities concerned will cause such detriment to the natural environment that the residents of the area  and those surrounding it will  be impacted negatively,” one objector said.

Concerns have also been raised over the impact on the infrastructure, congestion and the fabric of the community due to the sudden addition of so many new residents.

A serious lack of foresight and planning

Cultural heritage issues have also been raised over the nearby Torri Cumbo, a medieval watchtower, and the Mosta cemetery, directly adjacent to the proposed development.

Alternattiva Demokratika, which has objected to the application, argued it is identical to the proposal already turned down and that the development proposed was too intensive and had too few open spaces.

It said the proposal should be accompanied by details of the social and environmental impacts while the cumulative impact of it and other developments in the area should be assessed.

Moreover, it pointed out that the proposal ignored the fact that the cemetery needed to grow and did not consider the minimum distance from residential areas required by law.

The application is still pending assessment, with public consultation open until July 10.

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