The war of words between Environment Minister George Pullicino and the Ta’ Cenc developers continued during a public meeting held in the Sannat local council on Tuesday evening, with Paul Gauci – the coordinator of the Ta’ Cenc developers’ environmental impact statement (EIS) – going as far alleging that the minister is breaking the law.

“I cannot recognise what is against the law. The minister is not above the law,” Gauci said during the meeting after Sannat’s Green Party councillor John Mizzi referred to George Pullicino’s clear stand against any new development in Mgarr ix-Xini.

The minister publicly stated last year that the Structure Plan governing development in Gozo would not allow any development at the Mgarr ix-Xini inlet below Ta’ Cenc, a special area of conservation which is facing development by Real Finanz, the company owned by hotelier Victor Borg.

The company is still proposing the development of 38 villas at the picturesque Mgarr ix-Xini, 20 less than the 58 villas proposed in 2005.

But the developers’ EIS is contesting the minister’s interpretation of an ambiguous phrase in the local plan that governs development policy in Gozo, which calls on the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA) to “to limit development” at Mgarr ix-Xini.

Pullicino has reiterated his interpretation that no new development should be allowed at Mgarr ix-Xini near the existing villas. He also made it clear that Policy TOU10 will only allow development “in the vicinity” of the existing hotel.

“The lower part of the plateau near Mgarr ix-Xini is not in the vicinity of the existing Ta’ Cenc Hotel and as such the Structure Plan is clear that no development would be permitted in this area,” a spokesperson for Pullicino said.

The Ta’ Cenc developers claim the local plan simply states that development in this sensitive area “is permissible as long as it is limited”. Their EIS consultants cite the Development Planning Act as stating that the local plan cannot be reviewed before the lapse of two years – pointing at the minister’s statement as being tantamount to a ‘review’ of the plan.

But Pullicino insists no review has been effected, but that he was simply giving the “correct interpretation” of the local plan policy when he intervened in view of misleading media reports.

Stormy meeting
On Tuesday evening Green Party councillor John Mizzi was the only Sannat councillor to oppose the proposed development, who is contesting claims by the developers that only 1.7% of Ta’ Cenc will be built up. Mizzi insists this only represents the built-up footprint.

Irked by his presence, a partner of developer Victor Borg – Saviour Cremona – taunted Mizzi for being a returned migrant: “You might have spent 20 years in Australia but you could spend another 200 years there and you will still not be able to retire from work as I can do as from tomorrow… you should remove all this air of superiority,” Cremona told Mizzi.

Sannat’s Labour mayor was remarkably silent during the meeting except for insisting that the developer should take responsibility over work farmed out to other contractors.

Contacted by MaltaToday after the meeting, mayor Anthony Mercieca was non-committal about the developers’ latest plans. “We have not decided yet what stand to take on this issue. There are both positive and negative aspects in this project.”

Nationalist councillor Manwel Tabone said he needed more time to decide. The only Nationalist councillor, Tabone expressed his satisfaction that the developers had decreased the number of villas at Mgarr ix-Xini from 57 to 37 and had further reclined the other 36 villas near the hotel.

But he added that any development in Ta’ Cenc should be primarily of a tourist nature and not aimed at property speculation.

“It is not clear whether the multi-ownership concept will include the sale of villas to permanent residents or whether it will only serve to improve the tourism product.”

He also welcomed the fact that accessibility to the site will not be hindered and that the plans do not refer to the development of a golf course. In fact the EIS does not determine the use of an area of terraced fields previously identified for a golf course.

Dogs on the leash
John Mizzi also objected to constraints the developers want to impose on visitors to the proposed heritage park which will occupy 40% of Ta’ Cenc – if approved, pets will have to held on a leash and visitors prohibited from having picnics or riding bikes in the area. Access after dark would not be allowed to prevent light pollution. Hunters and trappers will also be banned from the Ta’ Cenc area.

Developer Victor Borg remarked it was conservationists BirdLife which proposed that dogs should not be allowed to enter the heritage park.

Borg also lashed out at BirdLife when claiming he had a letter in which the organisation offered Lm5 million to buy Ta’ Cenc with the intention of closing access to the public. “I told them, I do not want to do this. I am a Gozitan and I made my money in Gozo. I want Ta’ Cenc to be enjoyed by everyone,” Borg said.

After the meeting, contacted by MaltaToday Midweek, BirdLife denied offering a price although they discussed the purchase of the land.

Only one of the EIS consultants – anthropologist Mark Anthony Falzon – has questioned the compatibility of a natural park with the development of 74 villas and a new hotel, saying this was seriously jeopardize the recreational experience in the heritage park itself. “This holds particularly if the Heritage Park is set up, in which case visitors would become even more sensitive to the natural and cultural-traditional aspects of the place.”

Borg’s project also includes protected areas covering 17% of the Ta’ Cenc area, which will be closed to the public and used solely for research and educational purposes – a condition the developers claim was imposed by MEPA.

Borg is at odds with the Structure Plan which states public access around the coastline by the sea and on Ta’ Cenc cliffs should be secured – the plan actually calls on government to take shore lands into public ownership. The developers say there is no such obligation because Ta’ Cenc was sold to the private sector by government “without any conditions”.

They even claim the Ta’ Cenc territory is not only privately owned, but given to them freehold without any obligations or conditions.

And while the local plan calls for “unfettered access” to Ta’ Cenc, Borg’s EIS consultant Paul Gauci argues that “access by persons who do not have property rights over the Ta’ Cenc area requires, under Maltese Law, the consent of the proprietors.”

But the developers claim they will be conceding more public access to the site than that envisaged in MEPA’s local plan, and have promised not to limit the number of people visiting the site except by restricting parking spaces.

The Beattie survey
Surely the developers have an uphill struggle to convince Gozitans on the benefits of the project – according to a survey, 63% of Gozitans would visit Ta’ Cenc less often than they do today if the site is developed; only 19% said they would visit more often.

The survey was conducted in 2002 by consultant Philip Beattie, an economist who now fronts the far-right Azzjoni Nazzjonali.

It claims 48% of Sannat residents would visit Ta’ Cenc less often if more development takes place – only 15% said they would visit the site more often if more hotel accommodation and leisure facilities were introduced.

Curiously, this part of the survey was omitted from the main text of the EIS and only emerges as a reply to a query by the MEPA directorate in an annex of the document.

In his reply, EIS Coordinator Paul Gauci interpreted the results as an indication that “respondents assumed the enlargement of hotel facilities for upmarket tourists was bound to result in their being precluded from visiting the Ta’ Cenc area.”

He denied this was the case, saying respondents may have not been aware that the proposed hotel development was going to preclude hunting and trapping in the Ta’ Cenc area.

Contrary to Gozitan respondents the majority of Maltese (38%) said they would visit Ta’ Cenc more if the area is developed – only 14% of Maltese respondents would visit the site less if more accommodation is developed.

But even before the controversy erupted, a majority of Maltese respondents opposed further construction in Ta’ Cenc – with 41% expressing themselves against he extension of accommodation facilities and 38% supporting it.

On the other hand while 36% of Gozitans opposed further residential development, 38% were expressed themselves in favour. The survey also shows widespread agreement with the idea of a heritage park in Ta’ Cenc.