Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1537460
3 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 13 JULY 2025 NEWS massive developments looms over locality ternoon, she quips that she has no choice but to engage in activ- ism so that common sense might prevail. She notes that with the con- struction planned in Tal-Bebbux and the massive project slated for Nigret, Żurrieq has been bombarded by development on all sides. Annalisa is baffled as she wonders why these projects seem impossible to stop. "Why do we look at agricultur- al land as land that's just waiting to be developed? Why is it that the only consideration we have when we make decisions is how much money we can make?" On the political class, Annalisa says that MPs, especially those contesting the fifth district, must understand what is happening in these localities, and start to feel a sense of responsibility towards their constituents. "Surely, the people who voted for them didn't do so expecting they'd hassle us and force us into activism." 'Local plans aren't Moses' stone tablets' Wayne Flask, secretary at Il-Kollettiv, an activist group, describes the case in Nigret as the result of local plan changes that did not consider Malta's true needs. He described the 2006 local plan change as a massive exer- cise in speculation. Flask de- scribes the devastating effect these changes can have on one of the most beautiful areas on the island. If everything listed in the lo- cal plans comes to fruition, he warns, Malta would have a gi- ant landmass of development stretching from Siġġiewi to Birżebbuġa. This is why Il-Kollettiv has been calling for a revision in the local plans. Flask notes that the local plans are not unchange- able. "They aren't like Moses' stone tablets," he says, pointing out how the Villa Rosa local plan in St George's Bay was immedi- ately changed to appease devel- oper Anton Camilleri known as Il-Franċiż. Il-Kollettiv recently filed ju- dicial proceedings against the planning minister and Attorney General for endorsing the rezon- ing of agricultural land in Nigret. Flask states that the NGOs behind the judicial proceedings are confident in their argument, although he acknowledges their battle is long and will require a lot of effort. "We don't wish to file appeals and go to court but when we're constrained by politicians and private interests, we will do what we must," he concludes. (Left) An aerial photo of the area in Nigret on the outskirts of Zurrieq that is slated for development