An attempt to deviate the proposed “Smart City road” from arable land to fallow land nearer to the Cottonera fortifications has raised the eyebrows of Malta’s heritage watchdogs. The four-lane, 23-metre wide dual carriageway is set to link Zabbar with Kalkara and the Smart City project, running for 643 metres through largely arable land. But the Department of Agriculture has been pushing for a different route for the new road to minimise the impact on agriculture. The new proposal would have the road pass closer to the Cottonera Lines: a complex system of fortifications designed by Italian engineer Antonio Maurizio Valperga in the 17th Century, and named after Grand Master Nicolas Cotoner. But this option is considered a non-starter by both the Superintendence for Fortifications and the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage. Neither is the option regarded favourably in the Project Development Statement prepared by the ADT, which earmarks the route passing through arable land as the most beneficial. But the forthcoming EIA will still consider the alternative route proposed by the Agriculture Department. The two heritage watchdogs raised their objections during a “scoping meeting” with MEPA and the ADT to set the terms of reference for the new project’s EIA. The Department of Agriculture was absent for the meeting but its objections were nonetheless registered. An ADT official confirmed that the Department of Agriculture was “pushing” for the road variant closer to the fortifications. But MEPA official Richard Lia pointed out that “a variant which is a non-starter should not be a variant in the first place.” The main concern of the Agricultural Department is that the new road will result in the fragmentation of the land-holdings in the area. It also emerged that following consultations with the Department of Agriculture, the Malta Transport Authority had identified a variant for the new road passing close to the fortifications – an area was of a low agricultural value. The area consists mainly of unused fields. Although this variant would have a lesser impact on agriculture it would impinge on the heritage remains in the area which includes a battery used during the blockade of the three cities during the Maltese insurrection against the French occupation in the late 18th Century. According to the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage, this area “is one of the few cultural landscapes which is still intact.” In an effort to reconcile the two positions, MEPA official Vince Gauci declared that both the project and the EIA “should strike a balance between the destruction of agricultural land and the impact on the landscape of the area.” In another scoping meeting with local councils, Xghajra mayor Anthony Valvo and Kalkara mayor Michael Cohen and a representative of the Fgura local council said that they agreed in principle with the new link road. Valvo pointed out that traffic needs to be diverted out of Cospicua. During the meeting with the mayors, ADT official Mario Ellul acknowledged that the application for the new road forms part of a series of applications related to the improvement of the road network in connection with the Smart City development. But in a subsequent meeting with NGOs, MEPA official Joseph Gauci insisted that the road project predates the Smart City development as it was first proposed as a link between the Ricasoli Industrial Estate and Fgura in the draft local plan issued in 2000. Gauci was replying to David Pisani who, on bahalf of Moviment Graffiti, proposes that the number of projects related to Smart City, such as the new road and the sewage treatment plant which was re-located because of the new development, should have been treated holistically, and that a single study should be adopted. Din l-Art Helwa and Front Ghall-Ambjent Ahjar expressed concern that the new road could pave the way for the encroachment of further development along the line of the road. Both organisations argued that another variant closer to the built-up area of Zabbar would be preferable. Although this third option was considered, an ADT official pointed out that apart from being the longest route of the three being considered, “it would also affect more agricultural land and farmhouses in the area.” For MEPA it will be a veritable choice between lesser evils amidst conflicting environmental, heritage and agricultural considerations. But with Smart City’s arrival in Malta, maintaining the status quo is no longer an option because traffic from Cospicua to Kalkara and Xghajra will become unsustainable. jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt