Hands off our Balluta Bay!

One application will open the door to others.

Credit: Shutterstock.com

In an e-mail dated June 5, Jean Bert Gatt, Captain Morgan’s chief operations officer, on behalf of the Fortina Group, e-mailed: “It has been agreed that Captain Morgan is prepared to enter into dialogue with St Julian’s local council, NGOs and other representatives in order to discuss a potential solution moving forward.”

This came after Captain Morgan had decided to suspend works on a pontoon at Balluta Bay, following a protest by residents and activists at the site. The Fortina Group had, at that time, applied to introduce a fast-ferry service for a 33-metre-long catamaran to enter/exit 22 times daily. The contested proposal had then been ironically approved by the Planning Authority, after the same authority had initially indicated that it would be rejecting it!

Subsequently, various meetings were held with all stakeholders. The scope of these meetings was to identify alternative acceptable location/s. The obstacle was not about the principle but the implementation of the principle. During our last meeting, held on September 17, Edward Zammit Tabona, on behalf of Fortina Group, put forward a specific proposal and identified an alternative site. He promised all present that he would make sure his company would work hand in hand with the community and activists and that he would be formally submitting a proposal in the following weeks.

Sadly, his ‘promise’ was short-lived.

Last week, PA 07251/21 was filed with the Planning Authority and, unfortunately, this was not the proposal discussed! On the contrary, the application is almost identical to the preceding application filed in 2019, except that the pontoon is now set to be larger and positioned slightly further out. The new proposed pontoon will be 130 sqm, an increase of 49sqm from the previous 81sqm approved pontoon.

The bottom line is that, despite hundreds of objections, the ongoing pending appeal on the first application and the goodwill shown during our scheduled meetings, the Fortina Group is, once more, seeking its greedy self-interest with no care for the common good.

According to current local plans and SPED, Balluta Bay is designated as an official bathing bay and not as a commercial port for a 33-metre commercial catamaran to enter/exit 22 times daily. Balluta Bay cannot be commercialised further.

Is the Planning Authority going to follow its own policies or will it pick and choose which policies to adhere to, depending on the applicant’s political networking? Are local plans applicable only for us lesser mortals? Are laws and policies optional for some, I dare ask.

St Julian’s is overdeveloped. There are no more open spaces. Even Spinola Square has been turned into a busy traffic-dense roundabout, contrary to what the local council had proposed some years ago. Now, the central government also intends to add insult to injury, to construct one of the proposed metro stations in the middle of Balluta Square, instead of the current water fountain.S Thus, the only remaining public space for recreation is the limited stretch of coastline and Balluta Bay.

As past and present St Julian’s residents can attest, we have grown up taking refreshing dips in the bay, paddling lilos across it and snorkelling there. Divers and diving schools still take learners there to start out their forays underwater. Amateur fishermen can also enjoy their hobby there.

This will all change.

The damage will not be limited to the well-being of our residents/visitors. A number of independent reports have highlighted the side effects that such a pontoon and accompanying ferry route will have on marine life, in particular on Posidonia Oceanica, considered to be the ‘lungs of the Mediterranean’.

Residents also are greatly concerned that this application is only the thin end of the wedge and that this is just the beginning of the transformation of Balluta Bay into another Sliema Ferries. One application will open the door to others.

Our objection is not about the principle/mode of transportation but about the chosen location. The community cannot be ousted once more from one of its last few remaining public areas so as to appease the interests of those who seek their own self-advancement.

My plea for all is to stand up to be counted and to submit their objection to the Planning Authority regarding PA07251/21 at representations@pa.org.mt.

Silence is not an option but a betrayal.

As a citizen, as mayor and as a candidate for the forthcoming general elections, once more I reaffirm my stand for the common good.

My sincere, nonetheless assertive appeal, to the Planning Authority and to the applicant remains the same as ever. Hands off our Balluta Bay!

We will not be deterred. We will not give up!

(This article was published on Times of Malta – 30 October, 2021)