Nature Trust (Malta) has welcomed the decision by the Planning Authority to outright refuse the Hondoq ir-Rummien project, which, NTM said, not only lies in an ODZ, but sought to exploit the scar issue of the abandoned quarry "as a ticket for the development of the area and rake millions of profit for the developers in an otherwise worthless (ODZ) land."
The NGO added that it is about time that such areas are earmarked for complete ecological restoration into natural parks with afforestation projects in mind, where people can enjoy walking, hiking, doing sports activities, camping in an over developed island with a high rate of obesity in our children.
Nature Trust Malta concluded by saying that Local Plans should be used as guidelines and not "creatively misinterpreted by developers to favour unsustainable over-development with ripple negative effects on social life, health and traffic."