Qala Mayor Paul Buttigieg, on behalf of the Council, has stated that, “”all the political parties have stated that Hondoq should be protected. We are therefore requesting that these words be put into action.”

In a statement, Buttigieg said “we are again requesting that all the parties go to Parliament and pass a resolution so Hondoq be declared public domain, with all the protection that goes with public domain.”

He argued that there should be “no more delaying tactics, but the implementation of a plan to protect Hondoq, and fulfil the wishes of 1000’s of people, including 85% of Qalin who voted against the development of this jewel, in a referendum.”

“Go to parliament and change the local plan – the same as you did in recent years when you changed property heights to be higher in Had Dingli; when you changed the local plan for Ta’ Qali which became a zone for commercial purposes with higher height limitations; and also when hal Ferh became a residential zone instead of a tourist zone,” stated Buttigieg.

He argued that “the Local plans can be changed for environmental and social purposes – and the protection of Hondoq is a perfect example of changing a local plan for environmental, social and community reasons.”

Qala Mayor Paul Buttigieg concluded by saying, “listen to our request…even the European Courts concluded that Local plans can be changed without need for compensation. Take this step so we will know for sure who is listening to us and who genuinely has the environment at heart.”

Photo – Alain Salvary and video by Qala Mayor Paul Buttigieg

Permalink: Qala Mayor urges MPs to give permanent protection to Hondoq