The Gozo Regional Council and 12 Gozo local councils have met with Minister for the Environment, Climate Change and Planning Aaron Farrugia together with representatives from the Planning Authority (PA) to hear their development concerns and discuss proposals to better protect the natural landscape of the island.

A meeting was also held with the Gozo Regional Development Authority (GRDA).

Gozo Regional Council President Samuel Azzopardi said that the meeting was a “positive one” about the concerns of the local councils on the development of Gozo.

“We are confident that this will be the first in a series of meetings that will lead to better policies about Gozo because we believe that with all stakeholders on board, we can arrive at more sustainable development which respects the characteristics of our island,” Azzopardi said.

The Minister agreed to many of the proposals put forward by the mayors, such as the need for better enforcement and more intelligent planning.

Proposals such as assistance and guidance for local councils on planning policies, studies on skylines, and the issue of planning gain, were also discussed. Minister Farrugia explained that the aim of the virtual meeting was to listen to the concerns of the Gozo Regional Council and local councils in order to discuss the issue of development in Gozo, where he listened to both their concerns and their proposals.

He also explained the changes introduced in the past thirteen months and encouraged local councils to participate in an active way in the reforms that are being implemented.

“The message here is that Government is listening and acting upon the proposals of local government, stakeholders, and residents, who want to live in a better environment and enjoy improved quality of life,” Minister Farrugia said. “To attain this, it is important to continue developing our islands, but we need to ensure that this development is sustainable.”

PA Chairman Martin Saliba stated that “more work will be done to improve the quality of development in Gozo and in the future these proposals can also be studied in order to lead to better policies for the island.”

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