Activist group Moviment Graffitti is calling the Planning Authority “to see reason” on the Xlendi development saga and to “stop the uglification of Gozo.”
In a statement on Tuesday the activist group called on the PA to reject an application for a massive development that will see the construction of an eight-storey apartment block, towering over Xlendi bay and dwarfing the surrounding buildings.
It pointed out that the hearing is due tomorrow, and despite numerous residents voicing their concern and objecting to this development, the case officer has recommended it for approval.
If approved, Moviment Graffitti argued that “this development will threaten to destroy forever the little that is left of the original, quaint character of Xlendi and turn the area into one big eyesore.”
This development is not the only one that is threatening to intensify the urbanification of the area, it said. “Indeed, another massive development adjacent to the proposed apartment block, which will see the construction of a four-star hotel, is also being considered for approval by the PA.”
Xlendi, a popular tourist resort, is already besieged by a number of hotels and apartments overlooking the bay. If approved, this development will only exacerbate the situation.
The development in question (PA 3818/20), the fate of which will be decided tomorrow, is an application for the construction of 3-level basement garages overlying 60 apartments and 6 penthouses.
“Considering that the construction of a hotel in the same area is also being eyed for approval and the construction of another massive block of apartments and garages is nearing completion, approving another huge development in the area will be tantamount to madness,” Graffitti said.
Both developments are clearly excessive and out of proportion with the surroundings, it said, “and the Xlendi skyline and the traditional streetscape will be ruined forever.”
It went on to say that excavation and construction works will have an adverse effect on the quality of life of the residents and will give rise to a number of other issues, including waste generation, traffic problems and possible sea contamination.
Graffitti highlighted that these developments also “lie in direct contradiction to the Gozo Comino Local Plan, which points out that a number of touristic zones in Gozo, including Xlendi, have already been ‘considerably mutilated’ by over-development.”
“It also stresses that the features that attract tourists in the first place should be safeguarded rather than destroyed by tourism-related development.”
Graffitti noted that PA 4587/20, which will see the construction of a four-star hotel with 80 rooms and ancillary facilities together with 5 levels of parking “by a company directed by none other than construction magnate Joseph Portelli, makes mention only of phase 1 of the development, i.e. the demolition and subsequent excavation of the site.”
Phase 2 of the development, i.e. the actual reconstruction and redevelopment of the site, does not feature anywhere. It said that, this piecemeal approach to planning has already been seen in other massive development projects.
Moviment Graffitti concluded by saying that “considering that the lack of integrated planning and over-development are threatening to turn touristic and coastal areas in Gozo into a concrete jungle, condemning Gozo to follow in the steps of Malta, we urge the Planning Authority to treat this application with care and bear in mind that any further unsustainable development in the area can result in irreversible damage and change forever Xlendi as we know it.”
NGO Wirt Ghawdex has also come out against the projects, [1] saying that these “two extensive proposals” are adjacent to each other and, it warned, if approved, “will change the aesthetics and the character of the picturesque bay of Xlendi forever.”
Wirt Ghawdex added that, the “massiveness of the two proposed developments is completely out of proportion with the size of Xlendi Bay.”
`Image’ by Wirt Ghawdex was taken from a representation in PA 03838/20 showing Xlendi superimposed approximately with elevation of projects presented for approval to the Planning Authority; PA 06676/16 in dark red – already approved by PA and being built; PA 04587/20 in yellow/orange and PA 03818/20 in red.