NEWS | Wednesday, 28 January 2009

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Alternattiva Demokratika said it backed the relocation of the Gozo law courts, but not in the centre of a residential area as it is currently being proposed.
Residents from Victoria, together with Alternattiva Demokratika, protested against the building of a new Court premises in the centre of Victoria, and the residential area of Pjazza l-Assedju 1561, which is at the moment being used as a parking area.
AD said residents had not been consulted with regards to the plans of the buildings.
Alternattiva Demokratika chairman Arnold Cassola said, “We are not against the building of new premises for the law courts. On the contrary, we are in favour. But we are against it being built in the centre of Victoria because this would bring with it more traffic in the midst of the population, with an increased rate of noise pollution and air quality deterioration, and the consequent dangers posed to the health of residents and their children.”
Victor Galea, AD spokesperson for Gozo and secretary-general, urged the Gozo Ministry and the Home Affairs Ministry as well as the Transport Ministry to seriously reconsider their plans. He said the present premises in the Cittadella were inadequate to accommodate the volume of legal work, coupled with the concentration of traffic in the heart of Victoria, and the inadequate conditions of the workers.
Alternattiva Demokratika proposed instead that the law courts be moved to the outskirts of the city to a vacant complex formerly rented to Malta Dairy Products (MDP), where commuters could be served by a shuttle bus service.
“Not only does it afford ample office space, but AD also proposes this new complex includes other services such as a public registry, a regional police headquarters with lock-up cells, the fire brigade and rescue centre, a regional Attorney General office, a regional office for local government and any other department that falls under the Justice Ministry,” Galea said.
“Gozitans will be better serviced through these proposals and the much talked-about traffic congestion in Victoria would ease considerably.”
Residents in the area are worried that the site being put forward by the government is grossly misguided since it will increase the chronic traffic and pollution problem in Victoria and will destroy one of the few open spaces left in the capital of Gozo.

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