The Malta Environment and Planning Authority has asked the authors of the Ta’ Cenc Environment Impact Statement to remove any mention of letters referring to behind-closed-doors “understandings” between MEPA officials and Ta’ Cenc developers.
The draft EIS, seen by MaltaToday in January 2006, included a letter sent by the developers to MEPA in 2002 referring to discussions with MEPA in which “understandings were reached” that “tourism development includes the country houses area overlooking Mgarr ix-Xini, a golf course, a heritage park and an additional hotel.”
According to MEPA, these “understandings” are now “irrelevant” to the EIA, and do not reflect “a full picture of correspondence between the two sides”.
But in their reply to the MEPA Directorate’s comments included in the EIS, the Ta’ Cenc developers cite “informal consultations with the MEPA Board” before they submitted a revised Master Plan – identifying the various zones of the project including that at Mgarr ix-Xini – in 2005.
Another letter sent by the developers on 27 February 2004 states that during a “positive and productive meeting” with MEPA officials Stephen Farrugia, Silvio Farrugia and Rachel Portelli, the construction of 59 villas on the lower part of the Mgarr ix-Xini terrain was deemed “acceptable” by MEPA.
MEPA asked the developers to remove “all correspondences” as these do not “reflect a complete representation of correspondence with MEPA” and are “irrelevant to the EIA”.
Reference to these letters was removed from the final text of the EIS certified by MEPA, but the comments section of the EIS includes MEPA’s request for the removal of the contentious correspondence and a detailed reply by EIS coordinator Paul Gauci.
EIS co-ordinator Paul Gauci described MEPA’s demand to remove reference of this correspondence as “censorship”.
He called on MEPA to publish copies of all the correspondence leading to the formulation of this EIS as required by the legal notice on Freedom of Access to Information on Environment Regulations.
Gauci also listed the various commitments undertaken by different administrations since 1988 when a technical committee was appointed by Prime Minister Eddie Fenech Adami to “address all aspects of the (Ta’ Cenc) project and indicate an approach for a building permission”.
This led to a proposal of 210 villas at Ta’Cenc, which was later aborted.
MEPA also asked the developers to remove reference to “the letter of intent”, issued by the then Minister for Infrastructure Michael Falzon in 1990, because the “development proposed now is completely different to that proposed at the time”.
The EIS also refers to a letter from former Minister of Tourism Karmenu Vella, issued in 1998, recommending Ta’ Cenc for golf course development.
But despite any commitment undertaken by previous governments, the Structure Plan limits development to the area around the existing Ta’Cenc hotel and excludes any development at Mgarr ix-Xini. This was confirmed by Environment Minister George Pullicino in a letter sent to the MEPA Chairman in September 2006.