All Press Releases
| Ramla Bay development is unacceptable |
| Monday, 02 April 2007 21:30 |
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Friends of the Earth (Malta), together with Nature Trust (Malta), the Ramblers Association of Malta and GAIA, disapprove of MEPA’s decision to grant a permit for the construction of a large tourist complex in Ramla Bay, Xaghra, Gozo. Â
MEPA, by giving the permit to demolish the Ulysses Lodge buildings and replace them with new self-catering units, garages and swimming pools, has lost the opportunity to strengthen Ramla Bay’s credentials as one of the loveliest and most picturesque bays in Gozo. The site is outside the development zone, is classified as an area of high landscape value, lies in the close vicinity of a protected Natura 2000 site and is also close to a site of archaeological importance. With this decision MEPA has shown for the upteenth time that it is first of all a planning directorate that brushes aside environmental concerns. The Decision is also a demonstration that the merger - Environment Protection Department and the Planning Authority -was never reflected in MEPA’s set up. It is high time that the MEPA board is set up with an equal balance between environmentalists and planners to reflect this merger. Today the board is lopsided with planners and political appointees in a majority. |
