Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/814533
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 23 APRIL 2017 8 News Residents up in arms against Wied Incita development JAMES DEBONO A number of Attard residents have writ- ten to the Planning Authority requesting it to clamp down on quarrying illegali- ties before even considering plans pre- sented by the Bilom group to develop warehouses and retail space, in the area presently occupied by its quarries. Construction group Bilom is propos- ing the development of a huge industrial park for small and medium-sized enter- prises, equipped with an overlying solar farm over 158,000 square metres on the site currently taken up by quarries in Wied Incita, Attard. In representations submitted by Green Party deputy chairman Carmel Cacopar- do, the residents said the site is subject to a number of enforcement orders is- sued over a number of years due to the illegal operations. "The application ig- nores this list of enforcement orders completely, as if nothing had ever hap- pened. As if operations on the site were forever harmonious with the surround- ings and in full respect of neighbours." They insisted that Bilom should first and foremost be requested to remove the irregularities on site, and submit a proposal for the full rehabilitation of the whole site, including the cessation of quarrying and all the related activi- ties. "It is only subsequent to honouring the above that applicant should consider submitting a development of the site." The residents contend that the quar- rying is too close to the residential area which includes dwelling approved by the Planning Authority and its predecessors throughout the years. "Such approval by the Planning Authority implies at both law and policy that the surroundings should be compatible with the residen- tial nature of the area." While insisting that the Bilom applica- tion should only be considered if these illegalities are addressed, the residents also lambasted the new plans, particu- larly the proposal for 7,400 sq.m of retail areas just outside the development zone. The proposal for garages to be used by SMEs is also deemed objectionable due to the close proximity of the area to resi- dential units. The residents said no provision was made for the impacts of the traffic gen- erated, including heavy traffic on the residential community in the area. And they described proposal for installation of solar panels as a sweetener intended to camouflage an otherwise unaccepta- ble proposal. Green Party councillor Ralph Cassar is among the signatories of the representa- tion. The Attard Local council has also registered itself as an objector. Cassar said that the very fact that quar- ry operators want a new quarry and to fill the existing quarries with garages, warehouses and retail outlets, confirms that the current quarries have been ex- hausted. "What's more the illegalities at Wied Incita quarry have been going on unchecked since at least the 1990s. The terms and conditions of a 1967 emphy- teusis deed with the government, which owns the land, have been completely ig- nored. "The intentions of the current opera- tors of the quarries are clear – turning this area into a built up zone. It is also one thing installing PV panels, but using government solar energy schemes as an excuse to turn the area into a built up in- dustrial zone so close to the residential area is totally unacceptable." The development also foresees the construction of a family recreational park and a retail outlet, all set on the 158,000 sq.m tract equivalent in area to 22 football fields, of land outside devel- opment zones in Wied Incita. The ap- plication also foresees the relocation of existing quarry entrance and adminis- trative office to Zebbug side and exten- sion to quarry. Plans seen by MaltaToday envision the development of 235 garages occupying 55,000 square metres of land, a retail outlet to be built over 7,460 sq.m while the family recreation park would occupy only 2,550 sq.m. Land is also identified for recycling facilities. Labour Whip Godfrey Farrugia has al- ready spoken out against Bilom's plans to turn their quarry into a new industrial park for small and medium enterprises. "Wied Incita has been raped by quarry owners, rendering its habitat lifeless... the irregularities are well known," Far- rugia, who is an MP for the constituency that includes neighbouring Zebbug, said. jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt Residents call on PA to stop quarrying illegalities before even considering development of warehouses and retail in Attard ODZ Police officer accompanied poacher on illegal hunting trip TIM DIACONO A police constable has been caught breaking Malta's nature laws by going bird hunting dur- ing the closed season. He was one of two people who activists from the Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) filmed poaching at Wied Hanzir, near Hal- Farrug on Monday. CABS passed on to the footage to the Ad- ministrative Law Enforcement, who arrested one of the two men the following day. In a shocking statement, CABS have now re- vealed that the second man who was caught on camera was actually a police officer himself. "The policeman was sitting in the same hide with the poacher for at least an hour, spotting passing birds for him and – inter alia – helping him to adjust his binoculars," CABS said. "We have more than one hour of footage which shows the two men together with at least one shotgun visible in the hands of the poacher who was later arrested. When the ALE arrived, both men scarpered and disap- peared between the trees." The Bonn-based eNGO confirmed that it has filed a report against the policeman for aid- ing in a criminal offence he was duty bound to prevent. "It's bad enough that the ALE is kept on a short leash by the government which is not providing them with enough resources to con- trol the poachers," CABS press officer Axel Hirschfeld said. "The fact that some of their own colleagues are involved in illegal hunting does not make it easier for them". Although the spring hunting season has been closed for over a week, CABS warned that the number of shots heard in the countryside has massively increased since turtle dove migra- tion kicked in last Wednesday. "Despite that the season is closed we have re- corded much more shots per day than during the open season with a peak of more than 100 shots heard alone on Friday," CABS Wildlife Crime Officer Fiona Burrows said. She also said that on two separate incidents on Wednesday afternoon and Friday morn- ing CABS activists managed to film two other poachers with their shotguns in Wied Dalam and Tal-Virtù, adding that both have already been identified by the police and will be taken to court. This morning a CABS team filmed a group of five poachers – two of them wearing masks – trapping Turtle Doves within a private com- pound below the Red Tower in Mellieha. Foot- age which shows the men removing trapped birds from a clap-net has been passed on to the police and will be published on YouTube in the coming days. A few days ago, Gozitan police were filmed shouting at and manhandling conservation- ists led by BBC naturalist Chris Packham as they were monitoring illegal trapping in Gozo. Packham was then questioned at the police station in Victoria and charged with assault. But he was acquitted by the Court of Magis- trates over lack of evidence. "The policeman was sitting in the same hide with the poacher for at least an hour, spotting passing birds for him and helping him to adjust his binoculars," CABS said