Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/814533
7 In fact while a majority who completed a secondary educa- tion (59%) attend Sunday mass, a majority of those with a uni- versity education (62%) don't. What the survey reveals is a sharp drop in mass attendance among those attending inde- pendent schools when compared to those who attended church schools. This suggests that chil- dren from the same social back- ground are more likely to grow up as practicing Catholics if they are given a Catholic education. Some private independent schools can also be guided by a Catholic ethos, but Church schools in Malta tend to be run by Orders, for example the Jesu- its, the Dominicans, the Ago- stinians, the Lasallian Brothers, and the Franciscan sisters. In fact while 56% of those who attended a church school attend Sunday mass, only 33% of those who have attended an independ- ent school do likewise. But then again, the drop in mass attendance among re- spondents hailing from inde- pendent schools does not nec- essarily result in more secular views. Only 14% of those attend- ing an independent school want to remove the constitutional ar- ticle recognising Catholicism as Malta's official religion. On this aspect Church school alumni are slightly more secular in outlook. The overwhelming majority of those who have at- tended an independent school would not vote for a Muslim or an atheist candidate in a general election. But those who have at- tended an independent school are still the most likely to vote for an atheist (43%) and for a Muslim (33%). jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt maltatoday, SUNDAY, 23 APRIL 2017 C M Y CM MY CY CMY K JAMES DEBONO GZIRA mayor Conrad Borg Manché has expressed concern on the impact of a proposed 29-storey tower on the site of the Golden Harvest factory, and announced that the council has already registered itself as an objector to the development. "The project has a lot of reper- cussions and I am particularly concerned by the proximity of the project to the schools in the area," Borg Manché said when contacted by MaltaToday. The council has yet to discuss the issue in its next meeting but asked for his personal opinion, the mayor replied: "29 storeys is too much". Borg Manché admitted that during the past days following MaltaToday's report, he had been inundated by messages from residents opposed to the proposed development. Borg Manché confirmed that the council has discussed the redevelopment of the Golden Harvest area with the develop- ers but insisted that he was not aware that the developers were proposing a 29-storey tower when the project was discussed. "Our talks have focused on seeking a planning gain for the community through the crea- tion of an underground parking space. We did this to get some- thing in return for the commu- nity but we only learned of the extent of the project when the PA application was presented," Borg Manché replied when asked whether the council had consented to the development during these discussions. Borg Manché also said that the council has objected to the addition of five new storeys on the approved 16-storey tower in the former United Garage site, which had been approved without any opposition from the council in 2015. "One cannot apply for extra storeys over and above the Floor Area Ratio mechanism," Borg Manché said. 29 storeys on Golden Harvest site Gozitan developer Euchar Vel- la's firm Karkanja is proposing the construction of two inter- connected towers – one rising to 13 storeys, and the higher one rising to 29 – for some 100 new residential units as well as the ubiquitous supermarket. The new high-rise project is being proposed instead of the old Golden Harvest factory that faces the Turu Colombo Square, outside the Gzira secondary school along Triq Nazju Ellul and Triq Reid. In comments to MaltaToday, Euchar Vella said the project would regenerate the area by creating more open space. "Our intention is to create 2,000 square metres of open space on what is a 2,600 sq.m site… and also to allocate un- derground parking space to en- sure that Misrah Turu Colombo is no longer used as a car park. In this way the project will cre- ate even more open space to the benefit of residents." But the area is hardly suit- able under the controversial high-rise policy introduced by the Planning Authority, which requires land for high-rise pro- jects to be bounded by four streets. Plans submitted to the PA in- deed refer to an 880 sq.m "hy- pothetical road" which will be constructed as part of the new development. According to Vella the "hypo- thetical" road was being identi- fied in plans presented to the PA for the sake of calculating the area of open space which will be made available by the project, adding that the area occupied by the new road cannot be includ- ed in the FAR calculation, which offsets increased height with the creation of more open space. Gzira mayor: 29 storeys is too much MaltaToday Survey Schools: Church State Independent All Did you attend mass last Sunday? Yes 56.3% 57.1% 33.3% 55.1% No/Indisposed 43.7% 42.9% 66.7% 44.9% Yes 84.1% 92.1% 84.7% 87.1% No 15.9% 3.8% 14.3% 9.7% Don't Know 0 4.1% 1% 3.2% Would vote for an atheist/Muslim candidate in a general election? Atheist 37.1% 28.2% 42.6% Muslim 27.2% 18.8% 32.8% Should the Catholic religion be retained as Malta's official religion?