8 comments so far.NGO’s call for the MEPA Board to refuse Hondoq Appeal
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On the 2nd of May, MEPA’s Appeals Tribunal is to decide whether they will accept the new Hondoq proposal without a new EIA being submitted.
85% of Qala’s residents voted against the project, over 4400 people signed a petition against it, and in a joint statement from NGO’s MHH, FAA, Nature Trust, Ramblers, Friends of the Earth and,Din L-art Helwa appealed to the MEPA Board to refuse the appeal for the Hondoq proposal. the NGOs said that they “are against any sort of development at Hondoq.”
The NGOs said that “in the first project proposal, the developers had placed great emphasis on the fact that the marina was to be the unique attraction that would attract people to stay in the hotel and make it viable, in what is a weak market for 5 star hotels. They also said that 200 apartments were necessary to make the project viable.
“In the new proposal there is no marina to attract people to the hotel, and only 143 apartments therefore if the developers are to be believed, this new proposal cannot be viable.”
The NGOs said that “there has also been widespread opposition to the project.” MEPA’s Directorate of Environment Protection considered “the development proposal as objectionable on various accounts” and the NGOs said “recommended its refusal, as did MEPA’s Natural Heritage Panel, Transport Malta and the Church Commission.”
The NGOs went on to say that Malta’s Tourism Policy states that “long-term sustainable tourism cannot and should not destroy the assets that compose the tourism offer and which attracts tourists to Malta and Gozo in the first place” and that speculation should not be allowed. Malta’s Tourism Authority said that if the project is not developed as originally proposed it “reserves the right to reconsider its endorsement with regards to the development of the proposed hotel.”
The statement by the NGOs said that MEPA commented in the EIA: “We are all aware that several hotels have recently been demolished to make way for apartments or re-classified as apartment blocks, an indication that there are sufficient hotels available. At present there are several thousand empty apartments on this island. This means that another hotel and more apartments are really not sustainable or necessary.”
“Considering that the developers themselves bring into question the viability of the new proposal, that MEPA say “another hotel and more apartments are really not sustainable or necessary” and the “extensive opposition to the development,” the NGOs said that they call for the MEPA Board to refuse the appeal.
The NGOs concluded by saying that if permission were to be given for the hotel and apartments, this would be allowing an urban development in a designated ODZ area (as stated in the EPD report), setting a dangerous precedent for all the Maltese Islands.
Hondoq should be for all of us and not for the developers .God gave us Hondoq r Rummien for us to enjoy.
MEPA give us Hondoq back.I and many others are fed up with this hide and seek game Now that PL are in government .We all hope that we will rest our minds at last
Ten years on and Hondoq is still in the news Keep on doing all you can to safeguard this beautiful bay
Do all you can to leave this bay for all of us
Mepa Board please listen to what the NGOs are saying .Hondoq is needed for our relaxation
Joseph Muscat stated before the election that he was against the idea of any unsustainable development for profit at Hondoq. Now that he is in office it is time to put a stop to this long running debate once and for all. Enough of the country has been raped by these money hungry developers who care about nothing other than their bank accounts. I call on the Labour Government to address this issue immediately by putting a protection order on this whole area. Hondoq belongs to all the people not just the few with boats.
It is time for calling in favours. Who financed the expensive electoral campaigns?
Do the parties really think that people make donations to political parties through the goodness of their hearts?
Surely in this day and age people cannot be that naive!
Do they not realize that if a business man ‘contributes’ some of his hard earned cash, he wants something in return?
Something that maybe he can’t get legally like building permits in an ODZ area, or other monitored services relevant to his particular branch of business?
I heard on the grapevine that the road down to Hondoq is being resurfaced (not just patched), is this perhaps to facilitate the use of heavy equipment?
The PM will have a lot to answer for it he touches Hondoq!
I fully agree with you Lesley favours have to paid back.Let`s all hope that it won`t be Hondoq b ecause I will never vote for the rest of my life as I trusted the PL for the first time on the believe that Dr Muscat will take care of that area
Muscat said he was against a marina and hotel down there. The developers say the hotel is not viable without the marina. So that means that they will just build appartments which is pure speculation! How can MEPA possibly allow that in an Odz??
There will be no long term jobs, and the area will be ruined for all of us.