Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1531934
6 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 29 JANUARY 2025 NEWS JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt NICOLE MEILAK nmeilak@mediatoday.com.mt THE Naxxar Local Council has expressed serious reservations about a proposed mixed-use de- velopment on the site of a quarry off Labour Avenue. The project, outlined in a plan- ning application filed by Carmel Vella Limited, seeks to trans- form the site, currently hosting concrete and asphalt batching plants, into a sprawling complex featuring industrial, commer- cial, and residential care facili- ties as well as open spaces. In a letter to the Planning Au- thority (PA), the council empha- sised the need for careful consid- eration of the project's impact on the surrounding area, par- ticularly given its location within a designated Strategic Open Gap (SOG). While acknowledging the site is already developed, the council warned that approving such a large-scale project could set a precedent for further devel- opment in the adjoining lands, potentially threatening the safe- guarding of the SOG in the wid- er region. The proposed development includes extensive warehousing facilities below ground level, re- tail and restaurant spaces with outdoor seating, a five-storey residential care home and clin- ic. A car park with 625 bays and external landscaped parks and piazzas are also part of the plans. The council also highlighted the need for a comprehensive transport impact assessment to address traffic implications, given the site's proximity to the Higher Secondary school com- plex. Concerns were raised about the strain the develop- ment could place on service in- frastructure networks. This proposal is part of a broader trend of redeveloping quarries and batching plants lo- cated outside the development zone. Similar projects include a shopping mall and supermar- ket proposed in a rural area of Ħaż-Żebbuġ and another mall approved behind the Lidl super- market in Għaxaq. If approved, the care home for the elderly would become the fourth such facility in Naxxar in the past two decades. Council concerned over retirement home and mall in Naxxar quarry The site is located off Labour Avenue in Naxxar, opposite the educational complex that houses the Higher Secondary school A stark warning has been is- sued for Malta, as a new study published in the prestigious Nature magazine predicts that heat-related deaths on the island could triple by the end of the century if global warming is not tackled. The study finds that under a worst-case scenario of a 4°C temperature rise, Malta could see heat-related deaths soar to 269 per 100,000 peo- ple by 2095. In the summer of 2023, Malta recorded 80 excess deaths due to intense heatwarves and lengthy pow- er outages. The report identifies Malta as the "most affected coun- try" in Europe, with heat-re- lated mortality rates more than double the average for Southern Europe. Even under more moderate temperature increases of 1.5°C, 2°C, and 3°C, Malta is the only Euro- pean country projected to ex- perience a rise in heat-related deaths across all scenarios. In all cases, Malta's heat-relat- ed mortality rates far exceed those of other European na- tions and the continental av- erage. The study, conducted by re- searchers from across Europe, highlights the disproportion- ate impact of rising tempera- tures on Mediterranean coun- tries. Alongside Malta, Eastern Spain, Southern France, and Italy are singled out as par- ticularly vulnerable regions. Other European "hotspots" for increasing temperatures include Romania, Bulgaria, Austria, Southern Germany, and Southern Poland. The report says most Euro- pean cities will face a growing burden of temperature-relat- ed mortality unless significant action is taken. While cold-re- lated deaths have traditional- ly outnumbered heat-related fatalities in Europe, the study raises concerns about wheth- er reductions in cold-relat- ed deaths will be enough to offset the projected surge in heat-related mortality. Heat-related deaths in Malta could triple by 2095 without climate action, study warns