There seems to be no respite for the residents of Żurrieq, as the seeks to turn swathes of agricultural land into more and more apartments. Unsurprisingly, the Planning Authority is set to approve this application in Nigret, an area of Żurrieq that is set to lose its natural beauty to the onslaught of speculation. Last year, the newly-formed Għaqda Residenti taż-Żurrieq initiated a successful campaign to object to the development of a huge mass of land nearby, while another parcel of land in Nigret has already been approved for rezoning.
The PA’s approval of the project flies in the face of recent declarations by Planning Minister Clint Camilleri, who stated in parliament there is need to reconsider the type of “development” being carried out, hinting at a shift in policy to favour low-rise terraced buildings. Camilleri is already largely to blame for the planning mess: since he took over, not only has the PA insisted in its shocking free-for-all approach to approvals and illegalities, but he has also given the signal for more construction by proposing new building heights rules that will further ruin many towns and villages. While staffing the PA boards with district constituents, Camilleri has shown little will to make a positive mark, despite the electoral results that have seen Labour lose, among others, all-important Gozitan mayorships in the last elections.
Complaints about the construction overdrive in Gozo must have surely reached him. It is as if the c.