Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/734922
3 maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 5 OCTOBER 2016 News Thursday TVM 20:45 Busuttil: St Julian's land reclamation will spur on property speculation Opposition leader says any master plan for St Julian's and Paceville should not be simply a 'wish list' for people the government wants to help PAUL COCKS ANY masterplan for the St Julian's and Paceville area should not be a 'wish list drawn up by people the government wants to help' but should provide a level playing field for all interested parties, accord- ing to opposition leader Simon Busuttil. Addressing journalists while visiting stands set up for Fresher's Week on the University of Malta campus yesterday, Busuttil said there should not be any land rec- lamation included in any develop- ment projects leading to specu- lation, also because this would further reduce accessibility to the coastline by the public. Extensive land reclamation is being proposed in an area already known to be rich in sea grasses that are protected by the Euro- pean Union's Habitats Directive and which is adjacent to a marine conservation area. The proposal is included in the master plan for the Paceville area, which was issued for public con- sultation by the Planning Author- ity (PA). In the 1990s the PA had fined Portomaso's developers Lm50,000 (€120,000) for destroying posido- nia meadows following excava- tions for their yacht marina. The PA has now confirmed that the proposal to expand develop- ment at Portomaso through land reclamation was made without any preliminary studies. Busuttil added that Nationalist Party was still evaluating the mas- ter plan proposed but welcomed the notion of a master plan for the area. "This in itself is a welcome de- velopment and we support the drawing up of a masterplan for the area," he said. "But this should be presented as a level playing field and should not simply be a wish list drawn up by people that the government wants to help." His comments echo those of St Julian's deputy mayor Albert Butt- igieg who called the master plan a "smokescreen drawn up to cover pre-election agreements". The master plan will change planning policies for the area, setting a framework for the nine mega-developments that includes various high-rise towers. Portomaso is seeking a new footprint of over 38,700 square metres set on mostly reclaimed land, half of which will used for luxury apartments while 44% will be set up apart for hotel accom- modation. The remaining area is for office space. The master plan says this area has a potential for land recla- mation because of the relatively shallow sea, and that a sensitive development approach would be required for this site because of its proximity to a marine protected area. The master plan does not ex- clude another tower at Portomaso but expressed a preference for coastal development where devel- opment may still rise to a maxi- mum of 15 floors. The PA has told MaltaToday any studies will be now carried out in the Strategic Environment Impact Assessment (SEA), which will as- sess the environmental impacts of the entire master plan as a whole. Efficient public transport for students Turning to his immediate sur- roundings, Busuttil said that when on campus it soon became evident that the university was a village in itself, and that the need for a more efficient transport system was felt very strongly, as access to trans- port was in high demand. "In the last three and a half years, the problem – that was admittedly already there before – has not im- proved at all but has instead taken a turn for the worse," he said. "This is why we have put for- ward a number of proposals to tackle this problem, including the introduction of a tram system that would also make accessibility to the university much easier, even for Gozitan students, who would no longer need to rent a flat in the vicinity as they would be able to commute to campus every day." lems associated with the disposal of large amounts of inert waste in Malta and recognized that this activity has to be phased out due to Malta's international obliga- tions. Land reclamation itself-which is being proposed at Portomaso, could be in breach of EU envi- ronmental legislation protecting posidonia meadows, a protected marine habitat. Already in the 1990s the PA had fined Porto- maso's developers Lm50,000 (€120,000) for destroying posi- donia meadows following exca- vations for their yacht marina. Divers in the area who have spoken to this newspaper con- firmed that the ecology of the area is still recovering from the degradation suffered in the 1990s when Portomaso was developed. PN leader Simon Busuttil said land reclamation in St Julian's will lead to further property speculation and reduce public access to shoreline Photomontage shows development on the Portomaso land reclamation site completely replacing the iconic view of the Dragonara casino when seen from Sliema