Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1054415
maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 21 NOVEMBER 2018 5 NEWS JAMES DEBONO THE Planning Authority's planning commission has ap- proved a 58-room hotel built over four floors extending outside development zones and overlooking the valley be- tween Marsalforn and Xaghra, after the developers presented plans to relocate a part of the old farmhouse previously ear- marked for demolition. The relocation is limited to one larger room built with thick rubble wall with four stone arches supporting a stone slab. According to a restoration method statement presented by architect Joseph Bondin, the existing stone slabs and stone arches will be num- bered and marked in place, and carefully dismantled and stored in a safe location, one at a time, for ease of reconstruc- tion. New foundations will be prepared in the proposed re- location position, using ashlar recycled stones. The case officer had origi- nally recommended that the permit should be refused af- ter the Superintendence had objected to the demolition of the farmhouse. Although the hotel will be partly located in a rural hamlet, its footprint will extend into the neighbouring countryside. The site presently consists of an abandoned agricultural farmhouse with a 220sq.m footprint and adjoining agri- cultural fields. Hotels are not mentioned among the types of develop- ment allowed in rural hamlets in the Gozo local plan. The only tourist development en- visaged in these areas are hos- tels. The development will also include two ODZ swimming pools outside the boundaries of the hamlet and an adjacent three-storey terraced house. The hotel and an adjacent three-storey terraced house will be built over a footprint of 1,812sq.m of which 720sq.m will be built up. The footprint will now increase with the ad- dition of the relocated farm- house. The Superintendence for Cultural Heritage had previ- ously drawn attention to the presence of caves along the overhanging rock falling im- mediately outside the site footprint proposed for devel- opment, as well as beneath the site's footprint. The development originally described as a "3-star agro- tourism boutique hotel" is being proposed by developer Alfred Refalo and will be man- aged by Frankie Spiteri who also manages the Quaint Ho- tel chain in Gozo. ODZ hotel approved in Xaghra LAURA CALLEJA ANTIMICROBIAL resistance (AMR) is one of the biggest public health threats of our time, the su- perintendent for public health Dr Charmaine Gauci has declared. "AMR is a public health threat... most people know that antibiotics have advanced and can cure a mul- titude of infections. Unfortunately, over-use of antibiotics has created antimicrobial resistance, or AMR. This is a problem we foresaw hap- pening. It's a biological phenome- non which has now led to the emer- gence of strains that are partially or fully resistant to antibiotics." Yesterday the health ministry launched a national strategy against antimicrobial resistance, in a bid to control and possibly reverse current AMR trends. The policy will be is- sued for public consultation. Gauci said almost 50% of condi- tions that are primarily caused by viruses in Malta are being treated with antibiotics and that it was com- mon for individuals to even take an- tibiotics for simple coughs and sore throats. Globally, 25,000 deaths are at- tributable to infections caused by a selection of multidrug-resistant bac- teria per year. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) estimates that 25 to 35 peo- ple in Malta die every year as a result of infections cause by AMR. Gauci said that inappropriate use of antibiotics could lead to wast- age and higher medication costs. "Patients, their family and society endure loss of income and reduced worker productivity which all con- tribute to a social and economic burn generated by infections due to resistant microbes." The EU spends €1.5 billion annu- ally in healthcare cost and produc- tivity loses due to AMR. Dr Roberto Andrea Balbo, chief veterinarian officer, said that Malta was making great strides in the col- lection of data which he hopes will go a long way in addressing the problem particularly with the over- use of antibiotics in animals. "We were one of the few countries that did not provide data on the sales of antibiotics. The system we had was not strong enough. During the Maltese presidency we drafted legis- lation for better data collection. Be- cause of this we are now getting data on the amount of antibiotics being given to animals and also which ani- mal feeds contain antibiotics and the percentage that they contain." Over-use of antibiotics in Malta has become public health threat Photomontage of the proposed hotel's facade