Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1153841
15 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 11 AUGUST 2019 NEWS In 2018 events in Barcelona, Venice, San Sebastian and Berlin seem to alert us to a new interference with our quality of life that strikes right at the heart of our inept Maltese soft power. In the first three, "anti-tourism" protests are hitting out at the inflationary effect on property prices by abnormally high levels of tourism. Arran, the youth wing of the radical Popular Unity Candidacy in Germany, slashed the tyres of rental bicycles and a tour bus as tensions rise over the impact that Airbnb, for example, has had on the local housing market JAMES DEBONO THE ruins of two houses in the Wied Ghomor valley ap- proved for rebuilding as two villas right before the 2017 election, are now on their way to become a fully-fledged guesthouse. The Planning Authority's planning directorate is rec- ommending the approval of the 12-bedroomed guest- house, outside development zones on the valley side of Wied Ghomor, in St Julian's. In May 2017, the PA ap- proved the demolition of two dilapidated dwellings and their replacement with two villas with swimming pool. A year later, the PA approved the construction of addition- al rooms at basement level. The dwellings had been ap- proved after sufficient proof of previous residence was presented in the form of elec- toral registers dated 1981, 1982 and 1985. Bu the site is designated as a buffer zone for an Area of Ecological importance. The Environment and Resources Authority had objected to the application, noting that two previous applications to turn countryside ruins into two fully-fledged dwellings were "stepping stones leading to this proposal". The ERA also expressed concern that this amounted to "piecemeal development outside the development zone, including this proposal, having a cumulative effect on similar developments outside the development area." But the PA's directorate said the proposal did not include any additional extensions to what was already approved on-site or additional land take-up. Curiously, roads agency In- frastructure Malta also gave a helping hand to the applicant by resurfacing a rural lane, which leads to the site from the main road, under the pre- text of "maintenance of the bridge". The PA's Transport Plan- ning Unit (TPU) had origi- nally expressed concerns with the resurfacing of this rural lane. Paradoxically, just two years after approving the conver- sion to dwellings, the case of- ficer justified the new permit for the guesthouse by point- ing out that "scattered dwell- ings can have a very damag- ing effect on the rural scene" and that planning policies give priority to conversions "that generate employment to uses that cannot be accom- modated within the develop- ment zone". The report even claims "the redevelopment of a permitted building that was developed unsympathetically in the countryside may be consid- ered as a gain if it is properly redeveloped". The countryside ruins approved as two villas before the 2017 election are now on the way of becoming a guesthouse St Julian's valley ruins to get green light for guesthouse The authors of the study propose a tourism policy based on the democratisa- tion in tourism development, involving the active partici- pation of residents and local communities. But they also warn that this will not be an easy policy to carry out, due to the con- flicting interests and agendas involved in tourism. These include business interests, "often seeking short-term gains rather than social re- sponsibility", and politicians who "often try to gain po- litical mileage by boasting about tourism numbers". This results in "the ever-pre- sent tension between busi- ness and political interests as against societal, cultural and environmental costs". Mayors on overtourism Malta is facing its own pres- sures as well. In 2018, St Julian's mayor Guido Dalli told MaltaToday that the economic benefits of tourism on localities like his, Sliema, Bugibba or Marsas- cala were obvious, but it was undeniable that the number of tourists was also having a negative impact. These localities, he said, were the ones which suffered the most damage from tour- ism, as well as enjoying most of the benefits. "St Julian's is a village that never sleeps and that is an issue for the residents," he said. "We also find that while the majority of tourists and foreigners are well-behaved, many tend to be loud, rude and disrespectful." Sliema mayor Anthony Chircop said that a serious study on tourist capacity was needed to determine, locality by locality, how many tourists and seasonal foreign workers the country can accommodate without placing undue burden on its infrastructure and re- sources. "Is our decision-making based on serious scientific studies?" he said. "No, it's not. I think we are too lax and we are giving the green light to anything and everything, as long as it generates money and business." Sliema and St Julian's tend to attract the most foreign- ers and tourists, reaching peak numbers in the summer months with the arrival of students attending language schools in Malta. Chircop, himself with a background in the tourism industry, said that the major- ity of tourists do not stay in hotels while in Malta but find independent accommodation. This, he said, makes it impos- sible to monitor their stays in Malta. The serenity of the off-season... Golden Bay is photographed from our drone by James Bianchi, back in April, when warm weather still makes this beach a pleasant outing for families