Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1516210
4 NEWS 4 MATTHEW VELLA mvella@mediatoday.com.mt maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 21 FEBRUARY 2024 MOVIMENT Graffitti has called on Infrastructure Mal- ta and minister Chris Bonett to reveal the exact reason behind a decision to prune 145 mature trees along Valley Road, between Msida and Birkirkara. The NGO today warned that the tree-pruning will be "anoth- er example of the blatant disre- gard" for trees, and "an exercise in pure and condemnable butch- ery." Graffitti said it wanted assur- ances that any work would be conducted by qualified and com- petent persons, and subject to round-the-clock monitoring by the authorities, citing its "sensi- tive" and "delicate" nature. Infrastructure Malta has issued a tender for the hard pruning of the trees' canopy by up to 6m, stipulating that the canopy will be thinned out. It also requires the removal of any low-hanging branches, and of branches close to touching the nearby buildings. In an open letter addressed to IM and transport minister Chris Bonett, Moviment Graf- fitti questioned the need to thin out the canopy, noting that the benefits of the practice are dis- puted. It shed doubt on the need to prune any of the trees by six metres, arguing that this would "utterly destroy" the canopy. It said the light pruning of low-hanging branches and those that may be too close to the buildings on either side was un- derstandable, but did not reflect the tender issued by Infrastruc- ture Malta. Moviment Graffitti pointed out that the trees provide clean air and shade in an area of heavy traffic, and counteract the pollu- tion generated by the hundreds of vehicles passing through the road each day. "The trees are an invaluable asset to the people working in the offices and show- rooms along Valley Road, not to mention to the buildings them- selves, which are shielded from the smoke and dust generated by cars," it said. The organisation also drew attention to the large number of birds that roost in the cano- py, describing the cluster of 145 trees as "an important ecosys- tem within the harbour region's urban conglomeration. Moviment Graffitti further ex- pressed its concern that the con- tractor selected as the preferred bidder "does not appear to have any prior experience in manag- ing projects of such size that re- quire considerable sensitivity." "We are concerned that the tender issued by Infrastructure Malta sought only to choose the cheapest bid, without any con- sideration for the bidders' com- petence," it said. "We stress that works of such a delicate nature should be con- ducted with maximum care and supervision, and only to the ex- tent that is absolutely required. "Going further than is required to secure the integrity of buildings and safety of people would simply be another example of the blatant disregard for the important role of trees in the urban environment, and an exercise in pure and con- demnable butchery." Valley Road, Birkirkara (Photo: James Bianchi/MaltaToday) Valley Road tree-pruning is 'pure butchery' Graffitti says Moviment Graffitti describes pruning of trees lining Valley Road by up to 6m 'exercise in pure and condemnable butchery' DURING the last quarter of 2023, 321 building permits were approved, for a total of 1,292 new dwellings through- out the year. When compared to the cor- responding quarter of 2022, the number of building per- mits decreased by 10.1 per cent while the number of approved new dwellings de- creased by 37.4 per cent. The average number of ap- proved new dwellings per building permit stood at 4.0. Dwellings by type The majority of new dwell- ings approved during the last quarter of 2023 were apartments (859), followed by penthouses (216), mai- sonettes (125), terraced houses (76) and other resi- dential units1 (16). Apartments accounted for 66.5 per cent of the total number of approved new dwelling. Dwellings by district When compared to the cor- responding quarter of 2022, the number of new dwellings approved in Malta decreased by 34.1 per cent while those in Gozo and Comino de- creased by 51.0 per cent. The highest number of ap- proved new dwellings was registered in the Northern Harbour district (466) while the lowest number was re- corded in the Southern Har- bour district (101). Dwellings by locality The highest number of ap- proved new dwellings were issued in San Ġwann (73). This was followed by San Pawl Il-Baħar (66), Il-Ħam- run (64), In-Nadur (59) and Iż-Żurrieq (59). 321 building permits approved in last three months of 2023