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4 gozotoday | FRIDAY • 21 MARCH 2025 NEWS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 There will be a tentative up- rooting and replanting of 13 ma- ture eucalyptus trees; however, the likelihood of their survival is minimal. This outcome – a full devel- opment permission application which is to be submitted soon – follows five years of meetings that Din l-Art Ħelwa Għawdex and Din l-Art Ħelwa have had with the Ministry for Gozo in a con- certed effort to protect the valley during the proposed re-construc- tion of the Rabat to Marsalforn Road. Apart from the 202 mature trees which will not now be af- fected, the Ministry's proposed application is for a further 86 mature trees to be transplanted back to the same stretch of road and for 300 new mature trees to be planted. The two centre strips, charac- terised by the beautiful rows of trees along the road, will now be retained. Out of a total of 390 low lying shrubs, 259 will now remain un- disturbed, five shrubs that are deemed to be of a rare species will be transplanted but 131 shrubs, which are deemed to be common and easier to replace, will be up- rooted. The developement application to be submitted will also reduce the total area to be covered by the new road. The total project area will still increase by 5,567 square metres to 41,894. However, 5,175 square metres of expropriated land, previously destined to be surfaced, will now be retained in its natural state and planted with new mature trees. Only 393 square metres of agricultural land will be absorbed into the new road. To further ameliorate the imple- mentation correctly, the Ministry for Gozo has agreed to a system of numbering and colour coding all the existing mature trees on the road indicating the trees that will remain undisturbed, trees to be transplanted and trees to be uprooted. This exercise will be conducted with ERA. Din l-Art Ħelwa had not object- ed to the proposed bypass from Triq Fortunato Mizzi to Mar- salforn Road (from Triq Ġorġ Pisani through Triq Patri Ċaċintu Camenzuli) as the NGO recog- nised the need to reduce traffic in central Victoria. However, Din l-Art Ħelwa has always argued and continues to maintain that all that was re- quired was a resurfacing of the existing road and the removal of two or three potential danger spots. The focus of Din l-Art Ħelwa's concern was the agricultural land to be paved over, the uprooting and destruction of trees, poten- tial damage to water courses and the potential degrading of one of the most scenic and picturesque of Gozo's valleys and countryside. It therefore engaged in talks to strongly argue for the least pos- sible environmental damage and uprooting of trees. The initial discussions started off well with goodwill being shown by all sides to improve the first plans pre- sented by Government – which were deemed to be unacceptable. Talks continued over the last five years with a breakthrough in discussions finally being achieved recently. DLĦGħ founder member Godfrey Swain said: "A series of final meetings in February between DLĦGħ, the Ministry for Gozo and the architectural team responsible for the project displayed a real willingness to safeguard the countryside and mature trees, cleared a number of potential misunderstandings and hammered out a compromise po- sition. The final outcome is deemed to be a reasonable outcome in the circumstances and the process followed in this project could serve as a model on which future infrastructural projects can be agreed with NGOs to safeguard our natural environment." Din l-Art Ħelwa Executive Pres- ident Patrick Calleja said: "All that was required was a resur- facing of the road. The main risk to this picturesque and tranquil valley is the further urbanisation of the route to Marsalforn and loss of biodiversity in the area. Unfortunately it seems that the roadworks are going ahead any- way. We did our best to ensure that the road retains its tranquil, rural charm and natural beauty. The proposal that we have been shown now concludes years of discussions which were often on the verge of breaking down. We will remain vigilant." The DLĦ and DLHGħ teams included past and present presi- dents Alex Torpiano and Patrick Calleja, Godfrey Swain, Daniel Cilia, Danny Scanlon and Ann Marie Aquilina. 13 mature eucalyptus trees will be uprooted and replanted BANK of Valletta's former Agen- cy in Ta' Sannat has been ren- ovated and transformed into a fully-fledged Financial Well-be- ing Centre, with a refreshed look and an exclusive, personal and welcoming environment. The official launch of the new Financial Well-being Centre at Ta' Sannat follows the open- ing of the first such Centre in Floriana last summer. It adopts the same holistic approach to service delivery, with customers able to apply for new products and services in an environment that offers full privacy and com- fort. Services offered by the Cen- tre include personal loans, home loans, insurance and investment products, financial planning and retirement planning. During the official opening, Bank of Valletta CEO, Ken- neth Farrugia spoke about the Bank's commitment to contin- ue strengthening its services in Gozo. "The opening of the Financial Well-being Centre in Gozo builds on the success achieved by our Floriana out- let. This new Centre continues to drive our level of service up- wards to meet the high levels that our customers have come to expect from us. From this loca- tion in Ta' Sannat, we can now offer our customers residing in Gozo the privacy and flexibili- ty necessary to help them meet their financial goals. Introducing further service enhancements to the Gozitan community is an in- tegral part of our strategy. Apart from this new Centre, we also introduced a new ATM, bring- ing the total number of ATMs in Gozo to nine." BOV Chief Personal and Wealth Officer, Mr Simon Az- zopardi encouraged the Bank's customers in Gozo to take full advantage of the newly opened Financial Well-being Centre. "We understand that on a small island like Gozo, nowhere is too far. The Ta' Sannat Financial Well-being Centre can easily be reached and is a great place to act as a one-stop shop for all our customers residing in Gozo. While our main Branch in Vic- toria and the Agencies in Nadur, Xagħra and Xewkija will keep offering customers day-to-day services, Ta' Sannat will cater for service by appointment. Cus- tomers can choose to be served by the Relationship Officer they are accustomed to but opt to specifically meet at one of the meeting rooms in this newly re- furbished Centre, privately and confidentially during their pre- ferred time slot." Apart from the new ATM in Ta' Sannat, the Bank also intro- duced another deposit-taking ATM in Xagħra. T he Bank now has nine ATMs located in Victoria, Mġarr, Mar- salforn, Nadur, Xagħra, Xewkija and Ta' Sannat. Together with the CEO and the Chief Personal and Wealth Officer, present for the official opening, were Chief Commer- cial Officer Mr Simon Grech and Ta' Sannat Mayor Mr Philip Vella. BOV announces service enhancements for Gozitan customers

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