Nadur, Malta (Commonwealth Union)_It is never easy when David comes up against Goliath but that story had a good ending where the underdog won. In Nadur however, things are hotting up against three ‘Davids’ who have decided to stand up against Goliath, real estate developer Titan Developments Limited.
Three young people – all in their twenties – engineering student Jamie Buttigieg, his neighbour Corrine Zahra and a relative who lives in the US are fighting against a controversial construction project that is underway, which the three believe will negatively impact the culture and the environment in Gozo. Unfortunately though, Gozo is also a quiet laid-back community that has a strong ‘no protest culture’ which means the three young people are on their own. The older generations are too afraid to stand up and fight.
While the local council opposed the development but took no action to stop it, the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal did not uphold a request to suspend construction of the apartment block. In fact, the architect Ray Demicoli was already requesting permission to survey neighbouring properties for prospective procurement. There are 38 apartments and a basement garage that will house 61 cars being built, which will also mean excavating perfectly arable land already cultivated.
The residents insist that land had been stolen and families defrauded of their property. In 2021, the three young people managed to get over 1,300 objections to the initial court application. That application only served to scale down the construction, removing seven apartments from the original plans. The Planning Commission approved the scaled down project citing that the revised plans showed the developer’s commitment to have considerably downsized the project in scale and massing.
However, the scaling down was not what the objectors wanted because it seemed more like whitewashing. Qortin development once up will reduce farmland, cause sewage backups, ruin the water table and cause sewage to run into crops growing on that arable land. It will also create massive parking problems and obliterate views.
The community maintains that no proper studies were conducted on the impact of the development which would also impact quality of life of the residents and emergency service access. More seriously, the land does not belong to the developers but rather to the locals, whose deeds revert to generations before. And with the developer wanting to source land at whatever cost which meant hefty prices, a land dispute that began more than 300 years ago, resumed, sparking a land-ownership dispute.
The three young people are not alone in this fight however. Activist group Moviment Graffitti and environment NGO Flimkien Għal Ambjent Aħjar are girding themselves for action. While an application has been filed, an appeal fund has also been started to cover legal costs and to fight the case in court.
