Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1066826
NEWS 5 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 30 DECEMBER 2018 regularly votes for major de- velopments had been absent for 29 of 75 votes in 2017. A final decision on the project – which will take place on public land devolved to Sil- vio Debono's DB group – is expected next March in what could be another test case for the resilience of civil society and the power of big money over planning decisions. The battle against petrol stations One group which captured the public imagination in 2018 was Moviment Graffiti, main- ly due to two protests which stopped PA board meetings discussing the approval of ODZ petrol stations, on 6,000 sq.m of land, in Maghtab and Luqa in 2018. Moreover, a full eleven months after the authorities' promise to review the Fuel Service Station Policy, chang- es to this policy still have to be issued for public consulta- tion. The ERA presented its review of the policy last April, recommending that the poli- cy should not allow any new or relocated fuel stations on ODZ land. However, it was only last July, three months after the ERA review, that the PA opened a first public con- sultation exercise which has to be followed by another two. Clearly the government is not in a rush to change this poli- cy. In the meantime, 12 petrol station applications could end up being judged under the ob- solete policy. The limits of civil society action Road-widening projects over vast tracts of agricultural land have also been approved in Marsa and Santa Lucija with little opposition despite the loss of 15,000 sq.m of agri- cultural land and 210 cypress trees. A further 11,000 sq.m of agricultural land is set to be lost for widening of the road linking Mosta and Rabat. Opposition has been great- er with regards to the Cen- tral Link project connecting Mrieħel, Attard and Rabat, which led to the formation of the Attard Residents Environ- mental Network. In the face of a media out- rage, the government dropped plans to chop 76 Aleppo pine trees from the Rabat road, but the latest plans still foresee the loss of 60,000 sq.m of farm- land. Despite localised oppo- sition, road-widening may still be popular as a way to address traffic congestion in the ab- sence of a mass transit system. Plans have also proceeded with the Gozo tunnel which will have its entrance sited in the picturesque rural environ- ment of the Pwales area, dis- turbing one of Malta's most valued natural and cultural landscapes. Moreover the project will create enough construction waste to fuel the land reclamation pipe-dream. Yet opinion polls show mass support for the Malta Gozo link. This is a clear example where civil society activists may end up confronting ma- jority opinions. This is not an isolated case. For example, motor-racing enthusiasts also form part of civil society even if their de- mands in terms of land use may appear extravagant for a small island. Yet as the hunt- ing issue has shown, hobbyists can attract considerable pub- lic support. This exposes one major con- tradiction facing environmen- talists who often invoke local communities when opposing certain developments. How should they behave on issues where they have minority sup- port? More cumulative impacts Largely escaping public at- tention and civil society ac- tion, are the cumulative changes to the urban and ru- ral fabric. But this comes as a result of policies which en- riched individuals who sud- denly found ways to transform countryside ruins into vil- las and to knock down entire neighbourhood blocks. Added to this is the lasting legacy of the extension of buildings zones in 2006, with new ar- eas like 115,000 sq.m of land in Swatar being proposed for development last year. Tourism may be less of a sacred cow than it was in the past and residents have ral- lied against a boutique hotel proposed in Saqqaja, which promises additional storeys on one of the elegant town- houses in the area. But brand new ODZ hotels have been approved with little opposi- tion in the Kalanka cove in Delimara, near the Marsax- lokk marshland instead of the Hunters Tower, and in Xaghra in Gozo. All found little or no opposition at community lev- el. It is also doubtful whether environmentalists can garner support on issues like land reclamation which may not directly impact on existing local communities. Moreover environmentalists complain of exhaustion and information overload, lacking the energy to fight so many battles at the same time. Environmentalists who often invoke local communities when opposing certain development are faced with the problem of how to respond on issues where they have minority support Victories for civil society Revocation of permit for 38-storey tower in Sliema Withdrawal of application to remove soil in archeological area in Tal-Wej in Naxxar Plans for expansion of Bulebel industrial estate withdrawn Petrol Station policy review commenced Defeats for civil society 38-storey tower in Pembroke approved despite 4,000 objections ODZ petrol stations approved in Luqa and Maghtab ODZ hotels approved in Delimara and M'Xlokk Government presses on with road widening plans Planning Authority boss Johann Buttigieg Civil society heroes: Moviment Graffitti PHOTOGRAPHY JAMES BIANCHI