Non-stop development without any respect towards the environment is set to continue.
This time around, the victim will be the valley below the Mellieħa Church. An area that is of high agricultural value, and according to sources close to the Planning Authority, this project will include of an eyesore block, 8 floors high.
This project is not part of the Mellieħa Local Development plan, and not even the development plan for tourism and recreation. Moreover, the area is renowned for its ecological importance and its sources of fresh water.
The residents of Triq il-Marfa, which is just where the valley ends, woke up to an unpleasant surprise; an application for a development permit in an outside development zone, exactly in this valley.
The applicant, which according to the permit is the former Magistrate, Carol Peralta, and filed by his architect and the former Labour Minister Charles Buhagiar, wants to develop a hotel consisting of 118 rooms.
Local residents who spoke to Net News are angry and disgusted by the fact that the development does not even respect the deceased, who are buried in the cemetery adjacent to the same site. Moreover, the height of the development will ruin this part of the valley that so far has not been targeted by developers. If approved, this will create a snowball effect for further development in the area.
It is possible that the Planning Authority will request the applicant to alter the size of the project before it is approved.
